Alexander Zverev played down concerns regards his form after edging past John Millman in the opening round of the French Open. The 22-year-old had to work hard, and showed his frustration on a number of occasions before seeing out a 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 2-6 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 win in over four hours.
Related: Zverev Through In London
In the final and deciding set, the German broke the Australian world number 56, and will now go on to face the Swedish qualifier Mikael Ymer in the second round. Zverev went on to reach the quarter-finals at Roland Garros last year, and is happy where he is despite questions being asked about his form over the last 12 months.
“Everybody keeps on saying I had a tough year. I mean, I’m still number five in the world,” he told reporters after his match. “So it’s not that bad. Somebody who is having a tough year is probably outside of the top 50 or something like that. I’m still top 10 of the race. That’s what matters.”
