Zverev battles into 2nd round of Australian Open

Germany's Alexander Zverev had his struggles in the Australian Open first round before beating Peruvian qualifier Juan Pablo Varillas 4-6, 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 on Tuesday, reported dpa.

The Olympic champion 25, reached the second round for the seventh time in a row in Melbourne and was the first German man to make it past the first round at this year's opening grand slam tournament.

Seven and a half months after his serious foot injury in the French Open semi-final, Zverev's lack of match practice was clearly noticeable.

After a weak first set, the Hamburg player improved on the hard court, but the world number 13 was broken in the third set, which brought clay court specialist Varillas back into the match.

Errors and a lack of concentration dogged Zverev but he fought back and the 2020 Australian Open semi-finalist converted his second match point after over four hours.

Zverev was lucky that his opener took place in the covered and air-conditioned Margaret Court Arena. Play was suspended on the outdoor courts for around three hours because of excess heat.

Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff saw his match affected and was then eliminated in three sets by American Tommy Paul.