Zhang Zhizhen of the Chinese mainland clinched his first grass court victory of the season by defeating Austria's Sebastian Ofner with scores of 7(10)-6(8), 6(3)-7, 6-4 in a gripping first-round match at the Halle Open in Germany on Monday.
Reflecting on his performance, Zhang stated, \"I played well today, so did my opponent Ofner, especially with his serves. It's a great match. There was only one break in the third set. I'm glad that I won in the end.\"
He further added, \"The longer I play on the grass court, the more comfortable I feel. I know I can hold. He (Ofner) didn't have many chances to score when I served. But when he served, I could make some adjustments to seek a break.\"
Advancing to the next round, Zhang is set to face the tournament's No. 3 seed, Russia's Daniil Medvedev, on Wednesday. Medvedev emerged victorious against Portugal's Nuno Borges with a score of 7-6 (4), 6-4 on the same day.
Medvedev shared his thoughts post-match, saying, \"It was a really tricky match. First match on grass, so the sensations were not there. But I tried my best and I felt like, in the end of the match, we were both playing better and better, so that's a good thing, and actually the last game I played on the return was pretty good.\"
Having reached the Australian Open final earlier this year, Medvedev is keen on securing his first title of the season.
Reference(s):
China's Zhang Zhizhen secures first grass win of season at Halle Open
cgtn.com
