New Delhi: German tennis player Alexander Zverev defeated the last of the Big 4, Andy Murray of Britain, by 2-0 during the third round match of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, California, on Wednesday.
The historic match began as Murray took the 2-0 lead against the struggling German. The British player dominated the court and saved 2 break points to lead the opening set by 3-0 within 10 minutes.
But when Murray’s drop fell short at the net, Zverev, 24, took the fault as an opportunity to make a breakthrough with his aces and tactical footwork and won the set by 6-4.
The former World No. 1 gave a tough competition to World No.4 by getting an early lead due to his aggressive smashes and aces.
But his forehand errors and serve faults led to a tie-breaker in set 2. Meanwhile, a composed Zverev regrouped and took the 6-5 lead but missed an overhead, lending his opponent a point.
Despite his remarkable performance after the hip surgery, Murray’s final wide shot lost the next round to his opponent, Zverev, by 6 (4)-7.
The Olympic Champion previously defeated Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic and will face Gael Monfils of France or the South African, Kevin Anderson, in round 4.
(Avya Mathur)