MELBOURNE, Australia — Fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev broke Aljax Bedene's serve in the seventh game of the third set and went on to complete a 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 win over the Slovenian player to reach the second round at Melbourne Park.
Zverev finished last year strongly, winning the ATP Finals with victories over Roger Federer in the semifinals and Novak Djokovic in the final. At 21, he became the youngest winner of the event since Djokovic in 2008 and the first German champion since Boris Becker in 1995.
Zverev, who also won three other tournaments in 2018, hasn't advanced beyond the third round in three previous trips to the Australian Open.