Zverev joins Engel in the quarterfinals

Alexander Zverev, the number 1 seed at the BOSS OPEN, made a winning first appearance at the Weissenhof.

After 1 hour and 51 minutes, Zverev converted his second match point in front of a packed Center Court to win 6-2, 7-6 (7) against France's Corentin Moutet and was celebrated by the fans in the arena.

“The first match is never easy,” said Zverev immediately after the match on Center Court. “In the end, I won, which was the most important thing.”

After the first set, it looked like it was going to be a smooth victory: Zverev took his opponent's first service game to go up 1-0 and increased his lead to 2-0 on his own serve. Moutet fought back, breaking Zverev's serve to make it 2-2, but after that, the first set was a smooth affair for the Hamburg native, who followed up with two more breaks.

After a break to make it 4-3 in the second set, it looked like Zverev was heading for a quick victory. However, Moutet fought back again, immediately breaking back and eventually forcing Zverev into a tiebreak, where the Frenchman even had a set point at 6-5. Zverev pulled himself out of the noose and converted his second match point a few minutes later to win 9-7.

In Friday's quarterfinals, Zverev will face the winner of the US duel between Learner Tien and Brandon Nakashima.