VIENNA — No. 3 Alexander Zverev sympathized with Joel Schwatzler, who beat the 18-year-old wildcard in his hometown debut at the Erste Bank Open on Monday.
Zverev gave 347th-ranked Schwaerzler, playing in his second match at ATP Tour level, a pep talk when they met at the net after a quick 6-2, 6-2 win.
“When you’re 18 years old and you’re at your home tournament playing in front of the biggest crowd, playing against the No. 3 player in the world is not the easiest thing in the world,” Zverev said. . “I’ve been there, I did that in Hamburg when I was 17, where I got to the semi-finals and all of a sudden the stadium was sold out and I was playing against a certain David Ferrer.
“The game lasted over 30 minutes and I won one game. I know exactly what happened. [Schwaerzler] I feel it. “It’s not an easy situation, but he’s a great player and will have a great career.”
Zverev’s 60th win of the year equals his season high from 2018.
In other matches, Italian players Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli also achieved victories.
