Mischa Zverev in the semi-final of the Nature Valley International, ATP Eastbourne 2018
Mischa Zverev in the semi-final of the Nature Valley International, ATP Eastbourne 2018 | (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Nature Valley International 2018 | Maiden title awaits Zverev or Lacko

By Ros Satar, in Eastbourne

  • Mischa Zverev v Lukas Lacko
  • Zverev leads H2H 4-2
EASTBOURNE, UK – A maiden title awaits either Mischa Zverev or Lukas Lacko when they face each other in the Nature Valley International final.

 

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While his younger brother is the more well-known, Mischa Zverev has been quietly working his way through the Nature Valley International draw, and despite having notched up 124 tour-level wins in his career, the German has yet to claim an individual title.

He beat Kyle Edmund’s conqueror, Mikhail Kukushkin in straight sets and he will hope it is third time’s the charm as he bids to win his first ATP World Tour hardware.

He said, after the semi-final: “It was close. It was very tight, especially the tie-break in the first set. It was a lot of back and forth and I think I was very fortunate to win that set. It was a very close game, a few points here and there, but luckily I was able to come through.”

His serve volley game famously undid Andy Murray in the fourth round of the Australian Open in 2017 – and was seen as a throwback to an older style but on this surface, he can be especially dangerous. The leftie was the runner-up in Metz (2010) and in Geneva last year as he contests his first final on grass.

He continued: “I like grass. It’s great here, especially the courts here are unbelievable. I’m enjoying myself in Eastbourne.”

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Lukas Lacko downed top seed Diego Schwarzman in the second round and has looked in impressive form too, putting paid to Cameron Norrie in the quarter-final. He was surprised at how easy it was to get past Marco Cecchinato, who also claimed his first wins on the turf this tournament.

Lacko said: “I expected a little bit more from Cecchinato. I didn’t see him play like he did in his first two matches.

“I pretty much knew what he was going to do during the match, but it wasn’t coming; he kept missing and he didn’t serve well, and I was expecting moments where he’d grow into the game.

“But he was missing too much today; easy shots, and my performance was solid. I saw he was struggling so I didn’t want to make any silly moves or decisions, just tried and take my chances.”

The Nature Valley International ATP final follows the women’s final, which starts at 12:30pm

 

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