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Roland Garros: Zverev, Dimitrov Survive And Advance

May 30th 2018

Second-seeded Alexander Zverev and fourth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov were both pushed to the limit on Wednesday, but each persevered to advance at Roland Garros.

In the first epic match of the tournament, Dimitrov survived Jared Donaldson 6-7, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 in a match that featured a gutsy effort by the American who suffered from leg cramps towards the end.

There was very little separating the two competitors throughout the match as each battled into the decisive fifth set. But It became noticeable that Donaldson was dealing with a leg issue as he was treated by a trainer. Nevertheless, he continued to fight and had opportunities in the set. Most notably, with Dimitrov serving at 5-6, Donaldson worked himself to within two points of the match, but could not reach the finish line. And as he aggravated his injury, play continued.

Grigor Dimitrov

The American was forced to serve underhand twice as he struggled through the late stages of the more than four-hour match. But he showed amazing fight as he worked through the cramps. Dimitrov broke to go to 8-7 and looked to close out the match on his serve, but despite the obstacle, Donaldson would break back to even the match. However, it was too much to ask for the 21-year-old as the Bulgarian closed out the last two games of the match by breaking Donaldson again and finished out the 64-minute 5th set on his racket.

I wasn’t tired,” said Donaldson afterward, “but my leg muscles had reached their limit. “

For me it’s all steps. This is just another one I can learn from and use to improve.”

Meanwhile, Dimitrov told Tennis Channel that he felt good after the match. “I could have played another two hours,” he said. “It's great to win a match in five sets. I think it stays with you, you keep it, and especially on clay and out here.”

Elsewhere, in another five-set match, Zverev rallied to defeat Dusan Lajovic 2-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Alexander Zverev

Lajovic, a solid clay-court player, frustrated Zverev at times during the match. He held a set advantage twice during the encounter and the German’s mood was clear. Particularly when frustrations hit their tipping point and he broke a racket in half. But the incident seemed to infuse Zverev with energy and he would take control of the match winning the last two sets comfortably.

Coming into Roland Garros, a lot of the talk was directed at Zverev’s inability to reach a quarterfinal at a Grand Slam despite achieving success at the Masters 1000 level. But Zverev didn’t seem concerned afterward.

“Everybody tries to make a bigger story out of it than it is,” Zverev said. “I'm not worried. I know if I'm doing the right things and if I do the right work I'll win those long matches, and the success will come itself. This is not something I think of on a daily basis.”

Zverev will look to take a step closer when he faces Damir Džumhur in the third round.