Alexander Zverev’s great escapes lead to Australian Open SF place | ATP Tour

Match Report

Zverev’s great escapes lead to Australian Open SF place

German saved set point in opening two sets vs. Paul, awaits Alcaraz or Djokovic

January 21, 2025

Alexander Zverev advanced to his third Australian Open semi-final with a dramatic 7-6(1), 7-6(0), 2-6, 6-1 victory against Tommy Paul on Tuesday. The No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings saved a set point in each of the first two sets and denied Paul’s attempt to serve out both sets in Rod Laver Arena.

“To be honest, I should have been down two sets to love,” Zvered told Jim Courier in his on-court interview. “He played better than me. I was not playing great and I thought he was. I somehow won the first set, somehow won the second set, and I’m up two sets to love all of a sudden and I need only one more set.

“The fourth set was definitely the best that I’ve played and I’m obviously extremely happy to be back in the semi-finals now.”

Through to his ninth Grand Slam semi-final, the German awaits the winner of the evening showdown between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. Both men’s semi-finals will be played on Friday, giving both Zverev and his opponent two days off.

“Two of the best players that probably ever touched a Tennis racquet,” Zverev said of the marquee quarter-final. “Novak is the greatest of all time right now. Carlos is going to be one of them when he hangs it up, so it’s a clash of generations. They have played Grand Slam finals before. They played the Olympic final last year, so it’s a privilege to to witness it here in Australia… I think it’s it’s going to be a great match.”

Zverev earned his first win in three Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings with Paul by dominating the crucial points. Capitalising on untimely errors by Paul late in the opening two sets, Zverev took full advantage of his second lives.

The competitors traded breaks from 5-5 in the opener, with Zverev saving set point at 6-5, 40/30 on the Paul serve and then racing through the tie-break. The American notched an early break in set two but was undone by three consecutive forehand errors as he was broken at love for 5-4. Zverev then saved a set point at 4-5, 40/30 and later won 11 consecutive points to snatch the set, following a love hold at 5-6 with a 7/0 tie-break victory.

Both players were broken four times in the topsy-turvy match, according to Infosys Stats, and even the 6-1 final set was far from straightforward. Zverev was denied a 6-0 scoreline by a brilliant one-handed passing shot, then had to fight off two break points as Paul made one last stand.

Though Paul’s all-court tennis troubled the steadier Zverev throughout the match, his 44 winners and 74 per cent win rate at net (35/47) were countered by 56 unforced errors.

With his 30th Australian Open match win, Zverev passed Boris Becker to claim sole ownership of the all-time record for most singles wins by a German man at the event. While Becker is a six-time major singles champion, Zverev is now two wins away from his first Grand Slam crown.

Paul can take consolation in the knowledge that he is guaranteed his Top 10 debut in the PIF ATP Rankings following the Aussie Open. Up two places to No. 9 this week in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, Paul can only be passed this fortnight by countryman Ben Shelton — should Shelton win the title.

While Paul was unable to become the second active American player (along with Frances Tiafoe) to reach multiple Grand Slam singles semi-finals, Shelton will seek to accomplish the same feat when he takes on Lorenzo Sonego on Wednesday.