Bolt’s wild week comes to an end

Alex Bolt had few answers for the world No. 4.Credit:AAP

A Zverev d. A Bolt 6-3, 6-3, 6-2

The charmed run of Australian wildcard Alex Bolt has come to an end in the Australian Open third round against Alexander Zverev.

It turns out that lightning can strike once, twice, but not a third time – particularly in a big Saturday night clash on centre court against the world No. 4 and one of the brightest young prospects in the game.

For 26-year-old Australian Bolt, he was resilient and largely unaffected by the occasion. His tricky left-handed swinging serve was annoying at times for Zverev, but the German had enough firepower to triumph in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.

They were on court for nearly two hours and Bolt will undoubtedly savour every minute. His week at the Australian Open, highlighted by wins over former top-10 player Jack Sock and seeded Frenchman Giles Simon in a gruelling five-set clash, validated his wildcard selection and will do wonders for his ranking, currently at a career-high spot just outside the top 150.

Even when trailing two sets to love and down 4-1, Bolt refused to buckle. The lanky German struggled to hold serve and in the next game the South Australian held serve to love to draw some cheers. But Zverev comfortably closed out the match to set up a tricky fourth-round showdown with former Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic.

Firepower: Alexander Zverev.Credit:AAP

The capacity crowd on Rod Laver Arena normally see a Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic or a high-ranked local headline the night session of the Open’s middle Saturday. Tonight, however, the honour was bestowed on a player in his mid-20s giving the game another crack after a hiatus that included a spell building fences with his brother in South Australia. Local headline acts Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic were knocked out days ago while Australian young gun Alex de Minaur succumbed to Rafael Nadal the night before.

Thus it was Bolt’s 15 minutes of fame and, most importantly, he left far from disgraced against a tough opponent with a big game and who’d beaten world No. 1 Djokovic to claim the ATP Finals title less than two months ago. Make no mistake, Zverev is one to watch in 2019.

The opening set was not a good sign of things to come, however. Bolt was broken three times, including in the opening game. He also took a tumble early while scrambling for a return, grazing his knee.

Even though Bolt himself broke Zverev in the sixth game, with the German dropping four straight points, Zverev raced through the next three games to finish the set in 34 minutes.

The pattern was similar next up with Bolt showing his resilience by saving two break points to hold serve in the sixth game. However, the dam was always threatening to spill over. Bolt’s struggle to hold serve only gave Zverev a “look-in” with his next service game lasting less than two minutes, including two big aces.

Once Zverev closed out the second set in 38 minutes, his victory was inevitable. Subsequently, Bolt’s game dropped a tad and a rapid-fire third set was on the cards. But Bolt dug deep showing he wanted to spend as much time as possible on the big stage.

Zverev would have been pleased with a straight-sets match to move into the second week. After the match, however, he talked up his previously little-known opponent, saying a rankings climb into the top 100 – and perhaps towards top 50 – was within reach.

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