Dzumhur gives hungry Zverev food for thought

Alexander Zverev said it was not only the prospect of reaching the fourth round that he was hungry for in Paris on Friday.

Published : Jun 01, 2018 21:21 IST

Alexander Zverev was thinking about what he would have for lunch as Damir Dzumhur showed the hunger to dish up a major French Open test to the second seed on Friday.

Zverev trailed by two sets to one for the second time in three days at Roland Garros and saved a match point before winning an epic third-round contest 6-2 3-6 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 7-5.

The world number three had never reached the fourth round in Paris before and ending that unwanted record was not the only thing he had an appetite for on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Asked what kind of inner battles were going on in his head, the German said: "None. Mainly I was thinking what I was going to have for lunch at times.

"You try to win each point, you try to win each game. When you're down a match point, you're not thinking, 'Oh, how am I going to turn this match around?'

"You're trying to win that exact point to be able to continue the match. That's more what's going on in your head. It's not about, 'I'm going to try to do this, try to do that in the third set, I'm going to do this in the fourth set' or something like that.

"That's not the way it is. You try to win each point and - of course we have tactics - but try to accomplish things in different games."

The 21-year-old said winning after going the distance twice in succession gave him great heart as he attempts to reach the quarter-finals of a major for the first time.

"I think it was important to kind of see for myself that I can win back-to-back five-set matches and both very difficult physical matches," he added.

"I was feeling fine physically, so for me that gives me a lot of confidence going deep into the fifth set, going long matches on this kind of surface.

"And knowing that I'm fit enough to last as long as I want. So this gives me a lot of confidence, of course, and I think it was an important point to prove to myself, as well."

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