Zverev Beats Pouille to Kickstart Australian Open Campaign

• Alexander Zverev wins comfortably in straight sets against Lucas Pouille at the Australian Open.
• Zverev will face Pedro Martinez in the second round after a dominant performance.
• The German aims for his first Grand Slam title on his 10th Australian Open appearance.

German second seed Alexander Zverev began his pursuit of a first Grand Slam title with a dominant straight-set win over French wildcard Lucas Pouille at the Australian Open.

The 27-year-old, who reached the semi-finals in Melbourne last year, breezed into the second round with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory. Zverev, facing just two break points against the 103rd-ranked Pouille, will now play Spaniard Pedro Martinez in the next round.

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Pouille, a former world number 10 and 2019 semi-finalist, could have posed a challenge, but the world number two always seemed in control, showing he had more gears to shift through if needed.

Zverev’s quest for a Grand Slam has often been filled with near-misses. Last year, he fell in the Melbourne semi-finals to Daniil Medvedev after holding a two-set lead and was the runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros, after reaching the semi-finals in Paris for three consecutive years.

This clinical start on Rod Laver Arena marks Zverev’s 10th Australian Open appearance and his 36th attempt at securing his first major title. Should he win, he would tie with Stan Wawrinka for the most attempts before winning a Grand Slam in the Open era.

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Earlier on Sunday, Kei Nishikori marked his return to Melbourne after four years with a thrilling five-set win over Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro, triumphing 4-6, 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 6-2, 6-3.

Norwegian sixth seed Casper Ruud avoided becoming the first top-10 casualty of the tournament, overcoming Spain’s Jaume Munar in five sets, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1.

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