Australian Open: Nigerian-born Mmoh Stuns Zverev, Advances To 3rd Round

Nigerian born American men’s tennis player, Michael Mmoh, stunned former world number 2 and 12th seed, Alexander Zverev of Germany, to advance into the third round of the 2023 Australian Open.

The 25-year-old son of a former Nigerian tennis player, Tony Mmoh, beat the struggling former world number two 6-7 (1/7), 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 on Margaret Court Arena.

The German, who was a semi-finalist in Melbourne in 2020, admitted that the loss to 107th-ranked American was a further indication he still had a long road to travel on his injury recovery.

Thursday’s defeat followed two defeats at the recent United Cup, Zverev’s first ATP matches since tearing ankle ligaments at the French Open in June.

Mmoh only entered this year’s Australian Open as a Lucky Loser after the withdrawal of David Goffin.

This is the first time in the Nigerian-born tennis star’s career that he has made it to the third round of any major. Mmoh will face fellow American Jeffery Wolf in the third round on Saturday.

Born in Saudi Arabia, where he lived until the age of 13, Mmoh has both Irish and Nigerian ancestry. His father Tony Mmoh was also a professional tennis player who represented Nigeria and reached a career-high ranking of 105.