Two things that stood out in Alexander Zverev's 2R win over Alex Molcan at French Open

22nd seed Alexander Zverev thrashed Alex Molcan 6-4 6-2 6-1 in a second-round match of the French Open on Thursday, 1st June. It was a clinical performance from the 26-year-old German, who has experienced indifferent form in the lead-up to the tournament.

Zverev will face 12th seed Frances Tiafoe of the United States in the third round on Saturday. The German leads their head-to-head 6-1 and will start as the favourite on Saturday as well. The German, who was unlucky to retire hurt in last year’s semifinal against Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, looked in great touch against the Slovak.

On that note, let us take a look at two things that stood out in the match:

#1. Zverev was dominant from the forecourt in the first set:

Zverev put pressure on Molcan from the mid-court and the forecourt frequently in the first set. The German played a few nice approaches to set up points and then finish them with volleys. Molcan’s forehand crosscourt with a lot of top spin was typically directed to Zverev’s backhand, but the German’s formidable backhand helped him take control of most of the rallies.

The German started with a bang and broke the Slovak in the very first game of the match. He then held his serve to go 2-0 up and maintained the lead for the remainder of the set. Both players played a few drop shots as well, but Zverez was the more assertive player overall.

#2. The German stayed on the baseline more often to destroy Molcan in the last two sets:

The Slovak started moving the German from side to side with his angled shots from the second set onwards. He also succeeded in passing Zverev a few times, as the latter rushed the net.

This prompted Zverev to stay on the baseline more often as the second set progressed. He then started dominating rallies from the baseline and raced through the set, breaking the Slovak twice in the process.

The pattern continued in the third set as well, with the number of unforced errors creeping up for the Slovak, as he struggled to content with the German from the baseline. He broke Molcan twice in the third set as well to register an easy victory. Molcan was able to win only 40% of the points on his second serve in the match, while Zverev managed a much better 72%.