Tennis: Reigning Olympic champion Alexander Zverev opens title defence with first-round win
Germany’s Alexander Zverev started his Olympic title defence with an authoritative win over Spain’s Jaume Munar in the men's tennis tournament at Paris 2024 on Sunday 28 July. Zverev made easy work of Munar, marching into the second round with a 6-2, 6-2 win.
The Tokyo 2020 champion led a cast of tennis superstars in action on the second day of the tournament which included victories for Rafael Nadal, Coco Gauff and Barbora Krejčíková.
Two-time Olympic champion Nadal set up a mouth-watering second-round date with fellow tennis legend Novak Djokovic after beating Marton Fucsovics 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in a gripping three-setter.
Three-time Grand Slam runner-up Casper Ruud of Norway battled his way past Taro Daniel with a 7-5, 6-1 win to reach the second round on debut at the Games.
World No. 2 Gauff made a stunning start to her singles campaign with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Australia’s Ajla Tomljanović.
Gauff will have a busy maiden appearance in Paris as she will play in all three tennis disciplines — singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles — optimising her chances of walking away with some Olympic silverware.
Newly crowned Wimbledon women’s champion Krejčíková of Czechia had to work hard for a win in her first match of the Olympic tennis tournament. She came up against the tenacious Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain, who won the first set to put the two-time Grand Slam winner on the backfoot.
Krejčíková roared back, winning the second set without dropping a game before she won the tiebreaker in the third.
Former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu of Canada swept past Clara Tauson of Denmark with a 6-2, 6-3 victory in her opening match.