Alexander Zverev starts the 2026 season with a win, takes part in Germany | ATP Tour

United Cup

Zverev starts the 2026 season with a win, against Germany

Lys opened the Group F tie with a straight sets win, with mixed doubles still to come

January 04, 2026

Alexander Zverev led Germany to victory over the Netherlands on Sunday at the United Cup in Sydney, where the World No. 3 defeated Tallon Griekspoor 7-5, 6-0. Zverev’s win came after Germany’s Eva Lys defeated Suzan Lamens earlier in the Group F match.

The server held the first chance of Zverev’s clash with Griekspoor until the German grabbed a crucial chance by breaking from love at 6-5 to take the opening set. Playing his first match of 2026, Zverev produced a high level and rarely looked back, as he dropped only seven points in the second set.

“The first set, it was hard to find a rhythm,” Zverev said in his on-court interview. “I’ve had opportunities and done well and I’m very happy to win.

“I think my serve was good, to be honest,” he added with a laugh. “Everything else was difficult to judge because there weren’t many long meetings, there wasn’t much rhythm, but a win is a win.”

The 28-year-old now leads Griekspoor 9-2 in the Lexus ATP Head2Head series, marking the second time Zverev has achieved nine wins at the tour level against one opponent (Zverev leads Adrian Mannarino 9-0).

A determined Lys got the 2024 United Cup champions off to a strong start by beating Lamens 6-2, 6-2.

Lys went into the swing of things losing her only match against Lamens at the WTA Tour Powered by Mercedes-Benz 2024 in Osaka, but she held almost the entire time for the first match between the two countries at this year’s tournament, which doubled as Lys’ first United Cup match.

Pure genius from Lys and Lamens here 👏 pic.twitter.com/mBUOyAxtBr

– United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 4, 2026

After trading breaks twice in the first five games, Lys won a couple of key games to open a 5-2 lead and never looked back. He denied Lamens a match point to level at 3-3 before he broke his third break point in the sixth game, earning a follow-up despite trailing 15/40.

That was a microcosm of the one-hour, 39-minute collision. Nine of the 14 games of the match were drawn, and Lys won seven of them. Perhaps the most important game was the 1-1 draw against Germany in the second leg, where he shook off injury fears. After taking some time to close the blisters when he took a 5-2 lead in the opening set, Lys went on another bump that left him shaking his knee.

“As soon as I entered the court, I saw how many people were watching… I was actually shocked,” said Lys. “For the first time, I was running a marathon with Suzan. I was doing the most important points very well.

“I feel like I played well and I’m not too aggressive, and I feel that was the key,” he added, saying his physical problems, “could have been worse”.

Zverev will return to the court on Sunday, partnering Laura Siegemund in the mixed matches against Griekspoor and Demi Schuurs.