Zverev’s busy, successful stretch continues with straight-set win over Norrie

It has been a whirlwind few weeks for Alexander Zverev.

He made a championship run at the U.S. Open in New York, traveled to London and led Team Europe to a Laver Cup victory before heading halfway around the world to Beijing. With little time to recover between events, Zverev found himself back on court Thursday at the China Open, unsure what to expect from himself.

He ended up exceeding his own expectations.

The world No. 2 and top seed defeated Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie 7-6 (1), 6-4 on Diamond Court, opening his bid for his first China Open title.

“I’m a bit surprised because I thought it was going to be worse,” he said. “I’m actually quite happy with the level. I really can’t complain about how today went.”

The two-time Grand Slam winner fought off the Brit in straight sets despite Norrie’s impressive gameplay in the back-and-forth match. The win moved Zverev to 9-0 against Norrie in their careers. 

“I thought it was a high-level match from both of us,” Zverev said. “I thought Cam played extremely well, as well.”

The serve ended up being the key factor in deciding the match. Zverev recorded 15 aces to just three for Norrie. 

Norrie had a break point and a chance to win the first set, but Zverev fired back with an ace to force the tie-breaker. He added another in the dominating tie-breaker. 

“I think the serving definitely helped, especially in the important moments,” Zverev said.

The sound of “Let’s go, Sascha” filled Diamond Court, powering Zverev to first-set win. 

Both players continue a high level of execution in the second set, each holding serve and facing just one break point apiece. 

The only break point of the match was scored on the final point. 

The victory is the tour-leading 57th on the season for Zverev, who faces Shang Juncheng in the second round in his quest to overtake Jannik Sinner for the No. 1 world ranking. 

“I think the players that play well here most of the time, they have something to play for, they have some sort of motivation to play well,” he said. “I really feel motivated. I really have goals.” 

By Maggie Bane