Live Zverev beats Tsitsihar at Paris Masters, Runes remain in ATP Finals contention
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Alexander Zverev (27) beat rival Stefanos Tsitsihar (26) and Holger
Rune (21) narrowly defeated Alex de Minaur (25) in the quarterfinals of the
Paris Masters on Friday to keep alive their hopes of reaching the ATP Tour
Finals.
Zverev beat Tsitsihar 7-5, 6-4 to stay in contention for his first
title in Paris after losing to Daniil Medvedev in the 2020 championship
match.
Zverev , ranked 3rd in the world (the highest-ranked player still in
contention), will face 2022 champion Rune in the semifinals on Saturday
after the Dane beat de Miner 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.
In the 16th meeting between the German and Greek, the first set was a
close one.
"At the beginning he was better than me, but then I found my rhythm from
the baseline," Zverev said on the pitch. "And when I had the chance, I
took it in the first set."
After breaking at the end of the first set and the start of the second,
Zverev cruised to a sixth win against his longtime Greek
rival.
For world No. 11 Tsitsihar, who won the marquee tournament in 2019, the
loss erased any chance of a place in the ATP Finals at the end of the
year.
Tsitsihar and Zverev started cautiously, both having early break chances in
their first service games.
But they quickly found their range in the first set on the fast surface of
the Berczy Arena in Paris, as it looked like a tiebreak was needed to
separate the pair.
But the first break point of the match finally came when Tsitsihar served
at 5-all, and he double-faulted to win the second point. The Greek fended
off two set points and secured a break back point himself, but Zverev held
on and smashed a shot into the net at the end of the longest rally of the
set.
At 1-1 in the second set, Tsitsihar' shoulders were visibly slumped as he
hit curveball after curveball.
When he missed a shot wide to end a match that had lasted more than 15
minutes, his opponent now had a solid advantage, which he proved
by sealing the break comfortably.
The Greek fought back in solidarity and held serve for the next game, but
struggled against Zverev's serve.
Zverev, who reached the French Open final during his visit to Paris this
year, served ruthlessly out of bounds to win and keep alive his hopes
of winning his second ATP 1000 title of the season. "One of the best
players"
Seeded 13th in Paris, former world number four Loon needed just one
break to win the first set against de Miner.
In the second set, the Australian began to improve his groundstrokes,
hitting a number of stunning winners from both wings to the delight of the
packed stadium.
The stubborn Loon finally conceded serve at 4-5, giving de Miner three set
points. De Minaur converted with a well-constructed point, dragging
the 21-year-old Loon around the court and hitting an easy volley into the
net.
The Australian started to lose chances on his first serve, and Loon took
advantage with a break in the fifth game, but de Miner fought back quickly
to tie the score.
Loon was down 0-15 when a huge net rope grazed the line on the right side
of the court, and he made the most of it to break for a 6-5 lead and
then extend his lead to win the match. "Sasha (Zverev) and I had a
great match in Paris and he won in five sets. I beat him once, but in the
end he beat me," Run said of their five-set match in the round of 16 at this
year's French Open.
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