Alexander Zverev defeats the tenacious American Brandon Nakashima 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 in his “problem tournament.”
Alexander Zverev has advanced to the round of 16 with some difficulty in his “problem tournament” in Indian Wells.
At the first Masters of the year in the Californian desert city, the 28-year-old defeated American Brandon Nakashima 7-6 (7-2), 5:7, 6:4 and also won his sixth encounter with the world number 30 – after 2 hours and 32 minutes of hard work, Zverev celebrated with great relief.
Duel with Cobolli or Tiafoe awaits
In the round of 16, Zverev will face Italian Hamburg winner Flavio Cobolli, who recently won the tournament in Acapulco, or Frances Tiafoe (USA). The German number one has never made it past the quarterfinals at the hard court tournament in Coachella Valley since his debut in 2015. In all other current ATP Tour 1000 events, Zverev has reached at least the semifinals. With temperatures reaching 29 degrees Celsius on Sunday afternoon, Zverev struggled against the tenacious Nakashima. The 24-year-old from San Diego did not allow a single break point in the first set and fended off two break points from the German. However, Zverev then played the tiebreak with strong nerves. The second set was similar: Nakashima didn’t allow anything on his serve, Zverev fended off two more break points from the Californian at 3:4, but then lost his serve at 5:6 and subsequently the set. In the decisive set, Zverev had more control over Nakashima’s serve and had the first break points early on. Zverev remained patient: the first and only break ultimately won him the match.
The big names await the number four seed Zverev later in the tournament: if he reaches the semifinals for the first time, he could face Jannik Sinner, and only in the final is a duel with Carlos Alcaraz or Novak Djokovic possible. In 2025, Zverev had already lost in the second round to Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.
