Sixth seed Alexander Zverev mangled a racquet in frustration as he was made to dig deep against Marcos Giron before reaching the Australian Open second round Monday.
The German, a semifinalist last year who is gunning for a maiden Grand Slam title, lost a tight first set against the 73rd-ranked American before grinding to a 6-7 (8/10), 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, 6-2 win.
It was a tougher assignment than expected with Zverev smashing his racquet in anger during the second set before regaining his composure.
“He played incredible. He had me on the ropes, particularly in the second set tie-break,” said Zverev, who is into round two for a fifth straight year.
“I was just happy to get th…
Keep on reading: Racquet-smashing Zverev grinds down Giron