Lukas Klein might not have been a quite popular name among the tennis fandom, but the World No. 163 Slovak is now making the headlines, for almost ending the Australian Open campaign of Alexander Zverev.
Lukas Klein takes Alexander Zverev to five-set thriller
The World No. 6 and 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalists came off a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-3 win over his fellow German Dominik Koepfer to kick start his Austrlian Open campaign, and was up against Klein in the second round.
Expectations were on Zverev that it would be a walk in the park for the former World No. 2, but the challenge from Klein proved to be something that neither Zverev, not the spectators in the stands expected.
Although Zverev started ahead of the Slovak and won the first set, Klein came from behind and snapped his lead after levelling it out in the second, and continued his momentum into the third, winning two back to back sets to go 2-1 over the German.
The fourth set was the do or die for Zverev and he came from behind to go all out in the set, but there was no lack of effort from Klein as the 25-year-old went shoulder to shoulder against his opponent, taking the set to a nail-biting tie breaker, which Zverev barely survived.
The fifth set once again saw another gripping contest, as Zverev and Klein went to another tie breaker for the match point, and although it was ultimately a win for the German, it was a wake up call for Zverev to face such a tough challenge from the 163rd ranking player.
Lukas Klein’s popularity hits a massive spike
WHAT A BATTLE!
World #6 and Olympic champ Alexander Zverev survives #163 Lukas Klein 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(10-7) to reach the 3rd round at the #AusOpen.
4h30.
Klein hit 80 (!) winners.
Wow. INCREDIBLE match! pic.twitter.com/FIct0OLjwe
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) January 18, 2024
Currently ranked 2nd in his country, Klein has made it to 12 career singles finals, and in last year, reached his highest world ranking so far, at the 133rd spot. After earning his berth at the Australian Open, Klein defeated South Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo 7-6 (7-0), 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 in the first round to secure the match against Zverev.
Although it wasn’t a winning conclusion for him in the second round, the impeccable performance that Klein produced against one of the best in the sport, has been earning him much accolades, especially considering that the 2024 Australian Open is only Klein’s second Grand Slam and he is playing without a coach.
While it was expected that Zverev would make quick work of Klein, the Slovak turned the apparently easy looking contest into one of the most thrilling outings of this year’s Australian Open, turning it into a 4 hour 30 minute match, as well as winning two sets against the World No. 6 player and clocking 80 winners.
Needless to say, Zverev himself was awestruck by Klein’s performance.
I would much rather one-and-a-half hours, but what can you do? He played incredible,” Zverev said after the match. “He was hitting every single ball as hard as he could from both sides and I didn’t really know what to do. To be honest, he probably deserved to win the match more than me today, but that’s tennis sometimes. Now I’m into the third round and it’s about recovering.” [H/T Barrons.com]
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