MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Second seed Alexander Zverev barely needed to get out of third gear as the German cruised past Frenchman Lucas Pouille 6-4 6-4 6-4 and into Australian Open second round on Sunday.
Twice Grand Slam runner-up Zverev has made no secret of his ambition to lift a maiden major at Melbourne Park this year and the 2024 semi-finalist hit the ground running.
An inside-out forehand winner secured the opening set and the 27-year-old built a 3-1 lead in the next on the back of big hitting to leave Pouille soaked in sweat and seeking answers.
After doubling his advantage, Zverev raised his level a notch in the third set to seal his third break out of 18 opportunities and held in a tight game to go 5-3 up.
He finished off the 2019 semi-finalist with an ace to book a second-round clash with Pedro Martinez, who went through after Luciano Darderi retired due to injury trailing 6-3 4-1.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Melbourne, editing by Ed Osmond)
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