World number two Alex Zverev credited his brother Mischa for his mastery of left-handers after beating a 26th in succession in Frenchman Ugo Humbert to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals on Sunday.
Zverev honed his game with left-handed Mischa, a former top-30 player who reached the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park in 2017.
“I don’t think it’s something that matches up well particularly against left-handed (players),” Zverev said of his game after his 6-1 2-6 6-3 6-2 win at John Cain Arena.
“I just think it’s based simply on the fact that I had an older brother who is left-handed, and I grew up with left-handers.
“Just practising with a left-handed player, knowing all the slices, the topspins that they do, which are maybe uncomfortable for some players, are maybe more comfortable for me simply because I’m used to it.
“I think that’s maybe the main reason.”
Twice a semi-finalist at Melbourne Park, German Zverev next faces American right-hander Tommy Paul, who breezed through a 6-1 6-1 6-1 win over Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
There are no other left-handers for Zverev to face on the way to the final, with Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz playing in the other quarter-final in the bottom half of the draw.
While Djokovic, Alcaraz and defending champion Jannik Sinner have hogged the headlines, Zverev has cruised under the radar, undefeated in the new season with six consecutive wins.
Though losing his first set of the tournament against Umbert on a hot afternoon, the 27-year-old German was impressive as he recovered to dismantle the 14th seed.
Broken early in the final set, Humbert had a chance to get back on serve at 3-2 after earning a break point with a ferocious forehand passing shot.
But Zverev blasted a huge second serve down the ‘T’ to cancel the threat and broke Humbert again on the way to a win that suggested the bicep injury that bothered him in the lead-up is well past him.
“A week ago I was very unsure of my level and very unsure of my tennis,” said French Open runner-up Zverev, still hunting his maiden Grand Slam title.
“I couldn’t really prepare the way I wanted to … but I definitely want to play three more matches here, so we’ll see how that goes.”
