Zverev still without set loss

Alexander Zverev is only two steps away from the first title at the TERRA WORTMANN OPEN. Germany’s best tennis player is in the semi-finals after a good performance against Chilean Nicolas Jarry. And he hasn’t lost a set in the tournament so far.

However the task against Jarry who had beaten him in Geneve a while ago, was not as easy as the tasks in the kick-off matches for the man from Hamburg. The first set was tight. And it was Zverev who had the first breakpoints - but could not use them. He stood behind the baseline too often, was forced to defend from this position and his shots were too short. Jarry, on the other hand, played brilliantly with hard, precise baseline shots.

Towards the end of the set French Open finalist Zverev then played nearer to the baseline more often – and was promptly successful. A break for 7:5 brought him on track again. "I wanted to put pressure on him with the second service - that worked.”  It showed up again, then, what the difference is between the absolute world top class and the row behind; playing the best shots when it gets really tight.

And the stronger Zverev got, the more Jarry let go. He made more mistakes, was under more pressure. He got another break straight away. The German had now won 5 games in a row. But Nicolas Jarry is a stubborn opponent. And because the favourite on the other side didn’t serve as solidly as in the rounds before, it was tight again. In the seventh game of the second set the Chilean had break points.

The crowd’s favourite parried the attacks and held his service, cheered on by the 10.000 spectators. The next break point followed for Jarry when Zverev was serving because he didn’t play as constantly as at the beginning of the tournament. But Jarry faulted. Just minutes later Alexander “Sascha“Zverev yelled out his relief on winning the hard fought victory: 7:5, 6:3. "It was an unbelievable atmosphere here today, a big thank you to the audience”, the winner praised after the match. And he also praised his opponent, "he plays so strongly and will reach higher places in the rankings. I think he will be in the top 20 or top 15 at the end of the year. He is one of the best to serve”. 

Surprise-winner Alexander Bublik from Kazakhstan now awaits the two-times winner of the ATP finals in the Halle semi-finals. Bublik benefited from the injured Sinner giving up in the quarter finals, but beware; in the head2head Bublik leads against Zverev 2:1. However the German won the last of their matches in Monte Carlo only just in three sets. "It depends if Alexander gets out of the right side of the bed or not“, Zverev said. “He can hit 30 aces or 20 double faults. For me it is important to keep concentrated.”