(Melbourne) Alexander Zverev reached the semifinals of the Australian Open for the third time in his career on Tuesday with a 7-6 (1), 7-6 (0), 2-6, 6 victory -1 against Tommy Paul.
Posted at 6:22 a.m.
Zverev, seeded second, had to save a set point in each of the first two sets, but then dominated the tiebreakers.
The 27-year-old German has appeared in two Grand Slam finals, but has never made it this far to Melbourne.
In the semi-final, Zverev will face the winner of the long-awaited duel between Novak Djokovic, 37, and Carlos Alcaraz, 21.
Zverev needed three match points – one on Paul’s serve and two on his own – to clinch the victory, which he secured with an ace.
-Paul, 12e top seed and semi-finalist in Melbourne in 2023, had won his two previous duels against Zverev, but the two men were facing each other for the first time in a Grand Slam tournament.
“To be honest, I should have been down two sets to zero,” Zverev said. He played better than me. I wasn’t playing well and he was. I won the first round, somehow, I won the second, I don’t know how, and miraculously found myself in the semi-final. »
He said Djokovic’s duel with Alcaraz was “probably the most memorable match of the tournament.”
“They are two of the best players to ever touch a tennis racket,” Zverev said. It’s a clash of generations. »
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