World no. 12 Alexander Zverev played his first official match since June at the United Cup in Sydney. Alexander experienced a severe ankle injury in the Roland Garros semi-final against Rafael Nadal, missing the second part of the year and building his way back.
The German will have to play much better to return to the top-10. He kicked off the season with a 6-4, 6-2 loss to world no. 81 Jiri Lehecka in an hour and 32 minutes. The young Czech produced clean hitting and determined tennis.
He defended seven out of eight break chances and delivered four breaks from eight opportunities to control the pace and bring a notable win for his country against Germany. As usual, Zverev suffered a lot behind the second serve, especially after eight double faults.
He failed to impose his strokes in the decisive moments and faded from the court in the second set to propel the rival through. Jiri closed the encounter’s first game with a service winner, and Alexander leveled the score at 1-1 with a hold at 15.
Alexander Zverev fell to Jiri Lehecka in Sydney.
Zverev earned two break points in the third game and missed them. Lehecka played bold tennis and clinched the game with a backhand crosscourt winner to avoid an early setback.
Alexander grabbed the fourth game with a service winner, and…
