'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Fourth seed Alexander Zverev launched his maiden Olympics campaign with a facile 6-1, 6-3 win over Lu Yen-hsun.
In the pair's first meeting in over four years, Zverev a break early on and never looked back. Lu briefly tried to make a match of it in the second set, but the World No. 5 had enough in the tank to whizz past the finish line in under an hour.
Zverev has thus returned to winning ways emphatically after a disappointing five-set fourth-round loss to Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime at Wimbledon.
The 24-year-old will now meet Daniel Elahi Galan for a place in the third round. On that note, let's have a look at three talking points from his first-round match.
#1 Alexander Zverev employs a smart game plan under challenging conditions
The hot conditions in Tokyo have not been to everyone's liking, but Alexander Zverev dealt with them very well. The German grabbed an early break and soon took another as he pocketed the first set in just 24 minutes.
Zverev employed a smart game plan of keeping points short in the challenging conditions. The German won four of his five points at the net as Lu struggled to hold serve after his first service game of the match.
In the second set Zverev continued to venture forward with success, and the Chinese Taipei player struggled to conjure a response.
More than the opponent, the conditions seemed to present a greater challenge to Zverev on the day. But the 24-year-old came up with the goods and move a step closer to a maiden medal at the Olympics.
#2 Alexander Zverev puts up a serving clinic
Alexander Zverev produced an imperious serving performance in his Tokyo Olympics opener. The German sent down nine aces and committed zero double faults, and was never in trouble on serve.
Zverev registered a 59% first-serve percentage and won nearly 64% of his second-serve points in the match. Lu didn't have many options to gain a foothold in his opponent's service games.
#3 Alexander Zverev committed a few unforced errors which he'd want to clean up by the next match
In his bid to make short work of Lu Yen-hsun, Alexander Zverev hit 12 winners, which was eight more than his opponent. That said, the 24-year-old also leaked as many as 17 unforced errors.
That's an area of his game Zverev would need to improve on as the competition gets tougher, especially in the later rounds. Nevertheless, the 24-year-old remains one of the contenders for the singles gold, and he would be pleased after a satisfactory performance in his debut Olympics outing.
