Two match points, then a double fault
Alexander Zverev had the match in his pocket at 6/4 in the second-set tie-break. Terence Atmane took one point back with an ace out wide. Zverev handed him the other with a double fault. Suddenly it was 6/6, a third set was in play overnight in Ohio, and the German was staring at a man who has already collected three Top-10 wins.
He found the exit. Zverev closed it out 7-6(4), 7-6(8) in two hours and nine minutes to reach the Cincinnati Open fourth round, and he did it without ever letting Atmane serve for a set.
“Really a step up from my first match,” Zverev said afterwards. “Atmane played amazing tennis, incredibly aggressive, unbelievable serve, hitting forehands all over the court. I am happy to be through in straight sets.”
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Atmane made him work for every game
The Frenchman is 24 and left-handed, which is enough on its own to disturb rhythm at this level. Add the serving he produced and Zverev spent long stretches reacting rather than dictating. Atmane was hunting the fourth Top-10 win of his career and got within two points of forcing a decider.
He knows this court better than most outsiders. Atmane reached the semi-finals in Cincinnati last year, one of the odder runs of that hard-court swing, and he arrived on Monday with nothing to protect. The head-to-head now reads 2-0 to Zverev, though neither meeting has been comfortable.
Zverev also needed three sets to get past Cameron Norrie in his opening match here. That one finished late too.
Cincinnati keeps giving him something
Two weeks ago in Montreal he lost his first match to Tallon Griekspoor and left with nothing. Cincinnati has been kinder. Zverev won the title here in 2021 and has reached at least the semi-finals in every edition he has played since, missing only 2022 through injury.
The season numbers say the same thing. He leads the tour with 46 match wins in 2026, and his 20 Masters 1000 wins this year are matched only by Jannik Sinner. Tommy Paul or Adolfo Daniel Vallejo is next.
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