Alexander Zverev on Friday claimed a season-leading 43rd win with a straight-sets victory over Zhang Zhizhen of China to edge closer to back-to-back titles at his hometown tournament the Hamburg Open.
The world No. 4 needed just 66 minutes to secure a 6-4, 6-3 win and reach the semi-finals for the fourth time at the clay-court event.
His 43rd win of 2024 took him past the mark of world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
Photo: AP
“I’m extremely pleased with the level of tennis today,” said Zverev, who showed no sign of the knee injury he sustained in his fourth-round exit at Wimbledon. “I’m happy to be in the semi-finals, but I don’t want to stop here, I want to continue and hopefully defend my title here in Hamburg.”
French Open runner-up Zverev is playing his last tournament before heading back to Roland Garros to defend his Olympic title.
He was to play Pedro Martinez after press time last night. The Spaniard knocked out Argentine fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo 1-6, 6-1, 6-4.
The other semi-final was to be played between Sebastian Baez of Argentina and France’s Arthur Fils.
Additional reporting by staff writer
? Nordea Open
Staff writer,
with AP, BASTAD, Sweden
Rafael Nadal yesterday beat Duje Ajdukovic in the semi-finals at the Nordea Open, a day after advancing to his first semi-final in two years.
The Spaniard defeated the Croatian qualifier 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach today’s final.
On Friday, Nadal fought past 36th-ranked Mariano Navone of Argentina 6-7 (2/7), 7-5, 7-5 in a four-hour quarter-final. Nadal led 5-2 in the deciding set.
“I lost for some moments my concentration, but I was able to hold physically until the end,” Nadal said in an on-court interview. “That is so important for me.”
The other semi-final was between Argentina’s Thiago Tirante and Nuno Borges of Portugal. It was to start after press time last night.
Palermo Ladies Open
Staff writer,
with AP, PALERMO, Italy
Taiwan’s Latisha Chan on Friday exited at the 232,244 euro (US$252,949) Palermo Ladies Open, beaten in the women’s doubles semi-finals at the WTA250 event.
Chan and partner Zhang Shuai of China were defeated on the red clay at the Country Time Club by Russian duo Alexandra Panova and Yana Sizikova 6-4, 4-6, 13-11, missing a shot at a final against Spain’s Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers and Aurora Zantedeschi of Italy, who eliminated Olivia Nicholls of Britain and Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova 6-4, 0-6, 10-6.
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