Zverev overpowers Brooksby, 20, in third set in BNP

Alexander Zverev ended today's match with 142- and 143-mph aces,
his fastest ones of the afternoon. 2016 photo by Paul Bauman 

   INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — The longer the match went, the harder Alexander Zverev pummeled his serve and groundstrokes.

   That was bad news for Jenson Brooksby.

   The third-seeded Zverev, a 24-year-old German, overpowered Brooksby, a 20-year-old wild card from Carmichael, Calif., in the Sacramento area, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 today in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open.

   Zverev, 6-foot-6 (1.98 meters), won three of his four service games in the third set at love in 16,100-seat Stadium 1, the second-largest tennis facility in the world behind 23,771-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

   Ten of Zverev's 12 aces came in the final set, including missiles of 142 mph (229 kph) and 143 mph (230 kph), his two fastest of the afternoon, on the last two points. Overall, he won 73 percent of the points on his first serve (35 of 48) and 58 percent (14 of 24) on his second delivery.

   "I actually thought I didn't serve well today, so I thought, OK, I'll let it all out on the last two serves," Zverev, the singles gold medalist in the Tokyo Olympics last month, said in an on-court interview. "He's a tricky opponent. ... You're going to see a lot more of him in the future."

    Brooksby, who lost to Novak Djokovic in four sets in the round of 16 in the U.S. Open last month, is projected to improve nine more spots to a career-high No. 70. He was No. 307 when he turned pro last December.

   The ATP recently announced that it is investigating Zverev after a former girlfriend accused him of domestic abuse. Zverev has strongly denied the accusations.

   In the first round of men's doubles, top-seeded Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic of Croatia routed Mackenzie McDonald, a product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Brandon Nakashima of San Diego 6-2, 6-2 in 37 minutes.

   Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Matwe Middelkoop of the Netherlands edged Raven Klaasen of South Africa and Ben McLachlan (University of California, Berkeley, 2011-14) of Japan 6-2, 0-6 [11-9]. Klaasen won the 2017 title with Rajeev Ram.

   In the second round of women's doubles, Makoto Ninomiya of Japan and Sabrina Santamaria of Los Angeles eliminated eighth-seeded Sharon Fichman of Canada and Giuliana Olmos, an Austria native who grew up in Fremont in the Bay Area and represents Mexico, 6-4, 6-2.

   USTA Pro Circuit — Unseeded Catherine Harrison, a former UCLA All-American from Germantown, Tenn., in the Memphis region, routed No. 6 seed Dalila Jakupovic of Slovenia 6-1, 6-1 to win the $25,000 Team Ascension Women's Pro Open in Redding, Calif.