By Martyn Herman
LONDON, July 4 (Reuters) – Men’s second seed Alexander Zverev reached the last 16 at Wimbledon for the fourth time on Saturday as belief grows that this time the German is ready to make his mark on grass.
Zverev, still on cloud nine after claiming his long-awaited maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open, breezed past Marcos Giron 6-2 7-6(4) 6-4 on Court One.
The 29-year-old has never gone past the fourth round at the All England Club and admits that grass remains his weakest surface, although he has made confident noises this week.
After dropping a set against Alexander Blockx in the opening round he has been untroubled, with the dry, hard conditions clearly to the liking of the big server.
“I think what helps me the most right now is that I’m playing better. It’s as simple as that sometimes,” Zverev, who is bidding to become the first male player to win a second Grand Slam title immediately after landing the first, told reporters.
“I’m playing a lot better than I have done the previous years here at Wimbledon. Of course winning the French Open helps with confidence. I think anybody would always sign up to come to Wimbledon as the French Open champion, right?
“For me, I feel like this year for some reason the tournament is kind of just getting started.”
Things could get tougher in the next round though for Zverev as he will be up against powerful Czech 13th seed Jiri Lehecka.
Lehecka beat Spain’s Jaume Munar 6-4 6-4 4-6 6-4.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Clare Fallon)
