By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, February 11, 2016
Alexander Zverev battled back from a break down in the final set to subdue Gilles Simon, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (4).
Photo credit: ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.
Growing pains and physical strains tested Alexander Zverev today.
Down a break in the final set to Gilles Simon, Zverev spent a couple of changeovers receiving leg massage to combat the apparent onset of cramps.
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The 18-year-old German wild card was teetering on the edge of going down a double break, but Zverev regained his footing, reasserted his assertive baseline game and showed his resilience in Rotterdam.
Playing with more aggression at critical stages, Zverev won the final four points subduing the third-seeded Simon, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (4), to reach his second straight quarterfinal.
The youngest man in the tournament took a major step forward on the ATP learning curve, scoring his fourth career victory over a Top 20 opponent with a win that will propel him toward the Top 50.
In a match that was five minutes short of three hours, Zverev showed some frustation, played down the middle a bit too much in some stages and sometimes misfired on the mid-court forehand. But he displayed plenty of positive signs as well against the shrewd Simon, a three-time former Rotterdam semifinalist.
Pounding his two-handed backhand into the corners and showing the guts to step into the court and take charge of points in the tie breaker, Zverev competed with vigor and played tennis on his terms when it mattered most.
Zverev zapped ace down the middle holding for 5-all.
On his second break point chance, the former junior world No. 1 flattened out a forehand down the line, breaking for 6-5 with an extended "come on!"
Down 15-30 in the next game, Zverev dragged the Frenchman forward with the drop shot then poked a pass down the line to take a one-set lead after 58 minutes.
Attacking net, Zverev drew an errant floating pass, breaking for the second time in three service games for a 2-1 second-set advantage.
Patiently working points and absorbing the 6-foot-6 German's pace, Simon worked his way back into the match. He drained errors from Zverev winning five of the next six games. Lifting a backhand pass down the line for triple-set point, Simon served out the set at love to level the match.
As the final set escalated, Zverev began tugging at his knee. Simon broke for 3-2. Zverev took treatment on the ensuing changeover, receiving massage to both legs.
At that point, it looked like Simon was ready to grind the teenager into submission. Zverev had other ideas. He smacked a backhand down the line to break back for 4-all.
Trailing 3-4 in the tie breaker, Zverev took charge playing assertive tennis to reel off the final four points. He started the run with a serve winner wide, drilled an inside-out backhand winner, then stayed steady through a 19-shot rally earning match point when Simon netted a backhand.
When the slender Frenchman put a forehand into net to end the two hour, 55-minute endurance test, Zverev tossed his racquet aside, thrust his arms in the air and broke into a wide smile.
Zverev raised his record to 4-6 versus Top 20 opponents. The teenager who knocked off world No. 13 Marin Cilic en route to the Montpellier semifinals, will face another Top 20 foe, No. 18 Gael Monfils, for a place in the semifinals.
The fifth-seeded Monfils won their only prior meeting, 6-1, 7-6 (12), in Marseille last year.
In an all-French match, qualifier Nicolas Mahut saved all seven break points he faced in a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Jeremy Chardy
Mahut will meet Viktor Troicki for a semifinal spot. The eighth-seeded Troicki topped Hyeon Chung, 7-6 (5), 6-2.
Martin Klizan beat Marcos Baghdatis, 6-3, 6-2. The left-hander will take on Roberto Bautista Agut next. The sixth-seeded Spaniard was a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, victor over Jiri Vesely, punctuating the win with this spirited celebration.
Bautista Agut has cause for celebration. He raised his record to 14-2 on the season.
"I didn't start the match well and wasn't focused at all at the start of the match," Bautista Agut said. "It took me some time to get the intensity to play him. It's good when you're winning matches, but now I'll focus on tomorrow."