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After battling Borna Coric for three sets in his Miami opener, Alex Zverev closed Sunday's evening session in Hard Rock Stadium with a much more comfortable victory against American Mackenzie McDonald.

In a 6-2, 6-2 cruise, the German had break points in each of his first six return games, converting in four of them as he raced to a 6-2, 4-0 lead. He wiped away the only break point he faced, with McDonald's opportunity coming in a low-leverage situation as he trailed by a double break at 4-1 in the opener.

"I'm happy to be finding my rhythm a little bit," Zverev said after the one-hour, 13-minute victory. "I'm happy with getting easier wins, as well. Just generally happy to be in the fourth round. I think the tournament is going to get tougher from here, but I'm ready."

Zverev improves to 3-0 in his ATP Head2Head against the American, taking all three meetings in straight sets, including in Montpellier in February. McDonald, currently five spots off his career-high ATP Ranking at World No. 54, was playing in the Miami third round for the first time.


The German had success pinning his opponent deep behind the baseline, enabling him to dictate the rallies both on serve and return. He also hit 10 aces in the match and won more than 70 per cent of his service points.

"The most important thing against Mackenzie is to play deep, that's the number one priority," Zverev said of his tactics. "Because he's somebody that tries to go to the net, tries to play aggressive. So try to take that away from him. It worked out well and I'm happy to be through."

The 24-year-old has never lost in three appearances in the Miami third round, previously reaching the 2018 final and the 2017 quarter-finals.

German next plays sixth seed Ruud
Alexander Zverev continued the quest for his first title of the season Tuesday, overcoming Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-4, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

The World No. 4 captured six tour-level titles in a standout 2021 campaign but has yet to strike gold this year, with his best result coming in Montpellier where he reached the final.

Zverev is playing with confidence in Florida this week, however, having moved past Borna Coric and Mackenzie McDonald in his opening two matches. The 24-year-old dictated the forehand exchanges against Kokkinakis and played with greater consistency from the baseline to advance after one hour and 32 minutes.

“I wanted to shorten the points as it was quite hot,” Zverev said in his on-court interview. “Thanasi is a very aggressive player so I tried to take that away from him. I was returning the second serve quite well. I kept putting pressure on him and kept being aggressive and it worked out well.”

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With his victory on Hard Rock Stadium, Zverev now leads the 25-year-old 1-0 in their ATP Head2Head series. The second seed will next face Casper Ruud after the Norwegian swept aside 10th seed Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4.

“Casper is a great player and playing incredibly well right now, so I am ready for a tough battle,” Zverev added.

Zverev is making his seventh appearance in Miami, with his best result reaching the championship match in 2018, when the event was held at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne.

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Zverev played with great intensity at the start of the first set as he demonstrated impressive footwork to move inside the baseline and control points on his forehand. Kokkinakis struggled to impose his dynamic game on the German, who gained the crucial break in the fifth game in the first set before soaring through his service games to move ahead.

The German continued to control proceedings in the second set as he frequently finished points at the net after pulling the Australian from side to side. Zverev broke Kokkinakis to move into a 3-2 lead and from there he put his foot on the accelerator to advance.

Kokkinakis was aiming to reach the quarter-finals at an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time. The World No. 97 has enjoyed a strong start to the season, capturing his maiden tour-level title in Adelaide before he lifted the Australian Open men’s doubles trophy with Nick Kyrgios.

Wild cards face Arevalo/Rojer in last eight
Marcelo Melo and Alexander Zverev pulled off a shock win at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on Tuesday, powering past 2016 champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut to reach the quarter-finals on their ATP Masters 1000 team debut.

The big-serving Brazilian-German duo ran out 7-5, 6-4 winners over Herbet and Mahut, who came into the second-round clash with a 7-1 team record for 2022 having clinched a 22nd ATP Tour title in Montpellier in February.

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According to Infosys ATP Stats, Melo and Zverev won 80 per cent (37/46) of points behind their first delivery in the match. This gave the wild cards a foundation from which to attack, and they broke their opponents three times on the way to victory in 81 minutes.

Melo and Zverev’s quarter-final opponents will be Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer, after the eighth seeds overcame Tomislav Brkic and Nikola Cacic 6-3, 6-3. El Salvadorian Arevalo and Dutchman Rojer are hunting their third title of 2022 after triumphing on the hard courts in Dallas and Delray Beach.

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The first round was completed on Tuesday at the Monte Carlo Country Club, with the final three matches played. Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar edged out Croatian pairing Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig with a 2-6, 6-4, 10-4 win, while there was also Match Tie-break joy for Daniel Evans and Diego Schwartzman, who beat Monagesque wild cards Romain Arneodo and Hugo Nys 4-6, 7-5, 12-10.

Santiago Gonzalez and Andres Molteni also advanced to the second round, taking out Nikoloz Basilashvili and Alexander Bublik 6-3, 6-4. The Mexican-Argentine pairing has already clinched two clay-court titles in 2022, lifting the trophies in Cordoba and Buenos Aires, but is still seeking a maiden Masters 1000 crown.

German faces Pablo Carreno Busta in last 16
Taking the court Wednesday evening as the highest-ranked player remaining at the Rolex-Monte Carlo Maters, second seed Alexander Zverev lived up to the billing with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Federico Delbonis. Seeking his sixth ATP Masters 1000 title, and his fourth on the European clay, the German was tested by his World No. 34 opponent but used a late surge to prevent any real drama on the show court.

Zverev has a big opportunity to move within striking distance of the top spot in the ATP Rankings following the early exit of Novak Djokovic and the injury absence of Daniil Medvedev. The German would inch within 125 points of Medvedev and 235 points of World No. 1 Djokovic with a sixth ATP Masters 1000 title in Monte Carlo.

"This is the only Masters on clay I haven't won yet, but I'm very motivated to do so," said Zverev, a 2018 semi-finalist at the event. "I'm very motivated to play great tennis and I hope I can show that on court this week."

After losing the first four points of the match on the return, Zverev snapped into gear to win six straight games as he breezed through the opening set, dropping just three points on serve. Delbonis again started strongly in set two, breaking at love before a mid-set trade of breaks left him leading 3-2.

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As errors began to creep into the Zverev ground game, Delbonis had a point for 5-2 but could not convert, leaving the door open for his opponent. And Zverev took full advantage by winning 11 straight points to move within a game of victory. The Argentine saved a match point at 4-5 and another at 5-6, but netted a backhand at the third time of asking.

"I think just coming back, never letting him get too far ahead [was important]," Zverev assessed. "I broke him back twice, so that is helpful. If you're down 4-1, 5-2, something like that, it's not easy to come back."

As in the opening set, Zverev found the range with his powerful strokes, keeping Delbonis pinned back in the rallies and using his 6-foot-6 frame to great effect in defense. Aggressive from the start, the German finished with 18 winners and 36 unforced errors while converting six of 11 break points.

Overall, he was happy with his performance in first clay-court match of the 2022 ATP Tour season: "I think it's not bad for a change of surface. Also after Miami I was ill, so you have to take that into consideration a bit. But I'm happy with the win.

"Tomorrow I know that I have to play much better, and hopefully I can give myself the best chances."

The World No. 3 will next face Pablo Carreno Busta for a spot in the quarter-finals, after the Spaniard advanced via a third-set retirement against Alexander Bublik. The German leads that ATP Head2Head series 2-0, coming back from two sets down in their most recent meeting in the 2020 US Open semi-finals.

German chasing his first title in the Principality
Could this be the week Alexander Zverev claims the lone clay-court ATP Masters 1000 title he is missing? Already a champion in Madrid and Rome, the German is now three wins from adding a Monte Carlo trophy to his collection.

Zverev defeated 13th seed Pablo Carreno Busta 6-2, 7-5 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. The second seed will face fifth seed Andrey Rublev or ninth seed Jannik Sinner for a spot in the last four.

Carreno Busta has proven a tough foe for Zverev in the past, particularly in the 2020 US Open semi-finals, when the Spaniard won the first two sets before the German was able to rally. But on the red clay, the five-time Masters 1000 champion had too much firepower in a one-hour, 36-minute victory.


Zverev struggled at times in his opening win against Federico Delbonis, but raised his level against Carreno Busta. The 24-year-old had the superior firepower, and was able to unleash powerful shots from neutral positions whereas his opponent struggled to put him on the back foot often.

Zverev lost his serve immediately in the second set, but never panicked. He converted five of his 14 break points to reach the Monte Carlo quarter-finals for the second time in his sixth appearance. He is now 10-5 in the Principality.