#RG17 day three wrap: Murray through, Zverev out

Published by Paul Moore

Andy Murray downed Kuznetsov in four sets. Photo: Getty Images
It was a day of highs and lows at Roland Garros, as Andy Murray secured a hard-fought win, but Alex Zverev was soundly beaten.

Grand Slams are fickle beasts. Matches can turn on a dime, and there are early upsets aplenty. Day three at Roland Garros saw big names struggle (and sometimes fall), while a host of new stars shone brightly.

Murray through, Zverev crashes out

Finely poised. That’s how day three of Roland Garros began, and also where it ended. Rome champion Alexander Zverev might have gone into the day confident of overwhelming Fernando Verdasco with the match carried over from the previous evening tied at a set apiece. Unfortunately, for the much-vaunted #NextGen star, the tide turned the other way as Verdasco completed a 6-4 3-6 6-4 6-2 win.

Asked later about the difference between the two players, the German was candid in his response: “I played absolute shit… It’s quite simple.”

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World No.1 Andy Murray is another player who might offer a similar appraisal of his recent form, but he hopped back into the winners’ circle with a 6-4 4-6 6-2 6-0 win over Russian Andrey Kuznetsov.

After a second set stumble, Murray assumed control of a match that he was widely expected to win, coming home in two hours 32 minutes. “It was a decent start, considering obviously how I played in the buildup,” Murray said afterwards.

Elsewhere, 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka was a 6-2 7-6(6) 6-3 winner over Jozef Kovalik; Kei Nishikori fought back from a set down to beat returning Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis 4-6 6-1 6-4 6-4; Nick Kyrgios was a straight sets winner over Philipp Kohlschreiber; and Gael Monfils secured the 400th win of his career with a 6-4 7-5 6-0 win over Dustin Brown.

With the evening drawing in, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga broke back with Renzo Olivo serving for the match, the Frenchman trailing 5-7 4-6 7-6(6) 4-5.

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Halep, Svitolina saunter through

It’s never easy to back up a big win (as Alex Zverev found out), but Rome champion Elina Svitolina managed to do so against a potentially tricky opponent in Yaroslava Shvedova. The Ukrainian fifth seed was a 6-4 6-3 winner in one hour 16 minutes on Suzanne Lenglen.

“I think it was quite a tough match for the first round to have Yaroslava… I lost to her in Wimbledon last year,” Svitolina said afterwards. “But I’m playing much better and physically I’m much stronger. That’s why I had a little more confidence than the last time.”

Any injury concerns surrounding Simona Halep were quickly answered with the Romanian third seed easing to a 6-2 6-3 win over Jana Cepelova in little over an hour. Halep, who had been struggling with an ankle injury, was rarely troubled on her way into the second round.

Johanna Konta’s wretched run on the clay came to a close with a three set loss to Su-Wei Hsieh. The British No.7 seed started strongly, only to fall to a 1-6 7-6(2) 6-4 loss.

Elsewhere, Madison Keys won her first match on clay this season with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Ashleigh Barty; Genie Bouchard fought back to beat Risa Ozaki 2-6 6-3 6-2; and Agnieszka Radwanska secured a comfortable 6-1 6-1 win over Fiona Ferro.

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