Zverev brothers to meet in Washington DC

Alexander and Mischa Zverev will become the latest tennis siblings to face off in a tour-level match after both won their second-round outings in Washington DC.

Alexander, the No.1 seed and defending champion, crushed Malek Jaziri for the loss of just three games to set up the meeting with 15th-seeded Mischa, who earlier overcame Tim Smyczek 6-2 7-6(7).

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It will be their first ever meeting at tour level; they have met twice previously, in the qualifying rounds of a Dallas Challenger in 2012 and at Houston in 2014, and Mischa, nine years older, won both.

A lot has changed since those meetings, especially for Alexander, who was a teenager then but is now 21 years old and ranked No.3 in the world.

And he’s the complete opposite of his older brother in terms of build and playing style; unlike the shorter, left-handed serve-and-volleyer Mischa, the right-handed ‘Sascha’ is almost two meters tall and plays predominantly from the back of the court.

All of these factors combine to set the stage for an intriguing – and highly-anticipated – clash.

“It’s nice because we’re finally at a point where, we’re at a big tournament, we both play decent tennis,” Mischa said.

“I think it’s a win-win situation because it means both of my parents did a good job. They raised decent tennis players, and it’s going to be a win-win no matter what.”

This is true, yet the match will undoubtedly present an emotional test for the Zverev family, a close-knit bunch who travel and practice together on tour – with the family pet in tow.

“I don’t think my Dad will be sitting in my box, I think he’ll be sitting somewhere in a normal seat,” Alexander told Tennis Channel. “Obviously our teams will stay the same – Jez (Green) and Hugo (Gravil) will be on my side, Mischa’s people will be on his side.

“It’s definitely not just another match for both of us,” the younger Zverev added. “It’s going to be very, very interesting for our family. It’s a special day because not a lot of families can say they’ve had two brothers play against each other on such a high level.”

It is indeed quite rare.

Andy and Jamie Murray have never met on the singles court. Nor have Ryan and Christian Harrison. John and Patrick McEnroe met three times, but that was more than 20 years ago.

Sisters have met more often, none more notably than when Venus and Serena Williams have clashed repeatedly in Grand Slam finals since 2001. Pliskova twins Karolina and Kristyna have split eight career meetings (yet none have occurred in a WTA main draw) while Agnieszka and Urszula Radwanska have played four times. Ukrainian twins Nadiia and Lyudmyla Kichenok have met six times – yet mostly at ITF level.

“He used to always practice with me when I was 13, 14 years old … when he could, he tried to beat me 6-0 6-1,” Alexander told the Washington Post.

“I hope it’s not going to be like that (this time around).”