Alexander Zverev won his first match at the 2026 Australian Open, although he did not put in his best performance.
The world number 3 did not have an easy debut at Melbourne Park, considering that the draw put him in front of young Canadian ace Gabriel Diallo. The latter has a game suitable for modern tennis and has all the skills necessary to put top players in difficulty, as he had already shown in the past.
It is no coincidence that Diallo won the first set, but Sascha's experience made the difference in the second part of the clash and the inertia definitely shifted to the German's side in the next three sets. The finalist of the last edition expressed a level characterized by too many ups and downs and will necessarily have to improve if he wants to confirm the 2025 result.
Sascha defeated Diallo
Everyone knows that the champion from Hamburg still dreams of winning a Grand Slam title and is giving his best to achieve this feat, which has become even more difficult due to the presence of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
Although his 2025 season was disappointing from all points of view, he still remained in the Top 3 of the ATP rankings and repeatedly claimed to have been treated unfairly by the media. The feeling is that Sascha needs to find the right serenity to express his best tennis and 2026 will also be a decisive year for his future.
"My pre-season was quite good, I had a lot of good practice sessions and I spent a lot of time here in Melbourne," Zverev said in his press conference after beating Canadian star Diallo.
"I would have liked to play a few more matches as preparation, but there was no such possibility. In any case, I'm happy with how I played today and I hope to raise my level even further in the next rounds. My shots worked well especially in the last three sets."
