Alexander Zverev must be hoping that he can just stay healthy for the next few months. With Carlos Alcaraz out with a wrist injury through at least the French Open, and Novak Djokovic rarely playing, the German is clearly the second-best player on the ATP tour after Jannik Sinner.
This means Zverev's chances to win majors and Masters 1000s might never be higher, and his run to try to win the 2026 Rome Masters continued in the second round against his countryman, Daniel Altmaier. Though the two are only two years apart, they have only faced each other four times. Zverev has won three of the meetings.
In the first set, the second-seeded Zverev got an early break, and as he normally holds serve with ease, he appeared well on his way to an easy first-set victory. Instead, serving at 5-3, he was broken. He wasn't playing poorly, though he was trying more drop shots than he normally might. He is at his best from the baseline, and he wasn't playing to that strength enough.
Alexander Zverev survives against Daniel Altmaier at the 2026 Rome Masters
At 5-all, however, Zverev reverted to hitting his forehand with power, going for the angles, and Altmaier had no answer. At 5-6, he was broken, and Zverev had his lead.
In the third game of the second set, Altmaier got a break, but consistently holding serve against one of the better returners in tennis wasn't something he could assume. In fact, in the next game, Zverev got the break to get the set back to even, 2-all.
At 3-all, Altmaier pushed Zverev to a break point, and Zverev kept fighting off the break. After a tense game, he was able to get the hold. Altmaier was clearly upset that he couldn't get the break, even jokingly hitting a ball into the stands with the handle of his racket. He was likely more miffed after he was broken in the next game.
Zverev was then able to serve out a tougher-than-expected match, but a win is a win, and with no Alcaraz in his side of the bracket, he could be well on his way to the final.
Alexander Zverev will next play the winner of the Tallon Griekspoor and Alexander Blockx, whom the German just faced and defeated in the semifinals of the Madrid Masters, in the third round. The ATP No. 3 might need to play a tick better than he did against Altmaier to get the victory.
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