Five things you did not know about Mischa Zverev

Modified Jan 23, 2017 19:18 GMT

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 22: Andy Murray of Great Britain congratulates Mischa Zverev of Germany after their fourth round match on day seven of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 22, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) — Mischa Zverev scripted one of the upsets of the Australian Open by stunning World No. 1 Andy Murray in the fourth round

#1 Zverev has reached both of his Masters 1000 quarter-finals as a qualifier

SHANGHAI, CHINA - OCTOBER 14: Mischa Zverev of Germany reacts after losing the point against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during day six of Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qi Zhong Tennis Centre on October 14, 2016 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) — Mischa Zverev reached only his second Masters 1000 quarter-final a few moths ago in Shanghai

In his career so far, Zverev has reached two Masters 1000 quarter-finals and interestingly, both of them have come when he entered the tournament as a qualifier. The first instance came in the 2009 Rome Masters. After beating Spaniard Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo in the first round of qualifying, Zverev defeated former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final qualifying round to qualify for the main draw.

In the main draw, he began by defeating Tomas Berdych in three sets which was followed by another three-set victory over Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu. Both these wins came after Zverev lost the first set. In the third round, he stunned 8^th seed Gilles Simon in straight sets to reach his first Masters 1000 quarter-final. He was eventually defeated by Roger Federer in straight sets.

The German’s second Masters 1000 quarter-final came a few months ago at the 2016 Shanghai Masters. In the first round of qualifying, Zverev defeated Russian Karen Khachanov before defeating Ryan Harrison in the final qualifying round to qualify for the main draw.

In the main draw, he defeated Chinese wildcard Zhang Ze in straight sets which was followed by a surprise victory over 12^th seed Nick Kyrgios in straight sets. Zverev qualified for his second Masters 1000 quarter-finals by defeating Spaniard Marcel Granollers, again in straight sets.

In the quarter-finals, he was up against Novak Djokovic and gave the then World No. 1 a run for his money as he won the first set before the Serb held his nerve and won the next two sets to take the match.