Fourth seed Alexander Zverev prevailed in a turbulent 7-6(5) 6-4 5-7 6-7(6) 6-1 tussle with Jeremy Chardy to earn a third-round ticket at Australian Open 2019.
The Next Gen talisman dazzled at times with 29 aces and 71 winners wielded from his racquet, but surrendered a match point to allow Chardy back into the clash at Margaret Court Arena.
The 21-year-old eventually advanced to the last 32 for the third successive season to take on Australian wildcard Alex Bolt, who stunned Gilles Simon in another enthralling five-set contest on Thursday.
“That was such an amazing match with Jeremy, he fought so hard. He’s an unbelievable player and can cause damage to all the top players in the world,” said Zverev in tribute to his opponent.
“I think if you go five sets, it's always energy-consuming, especially today, a lot of nerves involved, as well.
“I thought the match was very high quality, high level. Jeremy started playing really, really well. I actually had my chances in all sets. Didn't manage to break.”
The world No.4 was personally pleased by the physical and mental fortitude he displayed, a result he hopes to use in the future.
“I was never two sets to love up and then two sets all, that was my first time today. It was definitely helpful that I won this match,” admitted a relieved Zverev.
“Matches can turn very quickly, so I’m happy I'm still in the tournament, first of all, but also for myself it's very helpful, as well.”
The towering German, who served impeccably to lift the ATP Finals title back in November, immediately fired down a series of booming deliveries to send the world No.36 off balance.
A 3-0 was quickly punched onto the scoreboard, but Australian Open 2013 quarterfinalist Chardy began to find his groove with clean, crisp hitting, and the 31-year-old forced a tiebreak.
When it came to the crunch, world No.4 Zverev connected with two aces, and wrapped up the opening set with a rasping backhand winner down the line from above shoulder height.
The German let out an almighty roar in celebration, and was boosted further by another backhand lasering past Chardy’s reach to chalk up a 3-2 break lead in the second set.
This time, Zverev wasn’t reeled in by the experienced Frenchman. The serves kept on soaring, saving a break point at 5-4, moments before the 21-year-old wrapped up a commanding two-set buffer.
Zverev relinquished serve at 2-3 in the third set, but produced a moment of pure magic to draw level.
Chardy had the Next Gen leader racing from corner to corner, forcing Zverev to flick a squash shot forehand retrieval from beyond the baseline, before he sprinted down the Frenchman’s volley to launch a backhand winner.
“Let’s go!” bellowed out the fourth seed, looking destined for a straight-sets scoreline, lifting his arms aloft to soak up the applause.
It wasn’t quite that simple.
Chardy banished three break points to hold for 6-5, and grasped his chance following an error-strewn game from Zverev to drag the match into a fourth set.
It was becoming a tale of missed chances, as the play returned to 5-5. Once again the world No.36 posed the question, but a brace of tetchy overheads enabled Zverev to contest a tiebreak this time.
Sensing that Zverev’s strikes were landing shorter, Chardy stepped in and crunched a catalogue of fizzing forehands to seize control. The Next Gen German rattled through three points to suddenly land at match point, but was dragged into a decider by Chardy’s progressive play.
Chardy, who last beat Zverev in 2015, was building towards a classic comeback, but the world No.4 demonstrated his ranking superiority to remove the shackles of his increasingly passive play to fly through the decider.
“He came back from two-sets-to-one down and obviously he’s going to be the home crowd favourite, I won’t be mad at you guys, I understand” quipped Zverev regarding his next opponent, Australia's world No.155 Bolt.
“It’s a great story; he quit tennis a few years ago and now he’s here in the third round of the Australian Open. Obviously being in the third round, beating Gilles Simon in a Grand Slam, his own Grand Slam, he's playing maybe the best tennis of his life.
“We'll see tomorrow what to expect. We'll look at some videos from him, but I'll do everything I can to prevent him going further.”