By Alberto Amalfi | Friday, May 5, 2017
Alexander Zverev outdueled Jan-Lennard Struff to set up a Munich semifinal with second-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut.
Photo credit: BMW Open by FWU
Timely strikes and stress management propelled Alexander Zverev into his second straight Munich semifinal.
In an all-German clash of explosive baseliners, Zverev squeezed past Jan-Lennard Struff, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5), into his second semifinal of the season.
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The seventh-seeded Struff, who carried a 7-3 clay-court record into the match, is projected to rise to a career-high ranking of No. 43.
The 20th-ranked Zverev hit 14 aces against the rangy Struff, who smacked 12 aces.
On match point, Struff sent a backhand down the line deep ending a tense two hour, 13-minute test.
It is Zverev’s first semifinal since he defeated Richard Gasquet to win his second career title in Montpellier.
The 20-year-old German will play Roberto Bautista Agut for a place in Sunday’s final.
Bautista Agut dismissed Germany qualifier Yannick Hanfmann, 6-3, 6-3, in 67 minutes in today’s first quarterfinal.
Hanfmann was one of three German men to reach the last eight. The last time there were at least three Germans in the Munich quarterfinals was in 2013 with four—Daniel Brands, Tommy Haas, Philipp Kohlschreiber and Florian Mayer—making the final eight.
The second-seeded Spaniard converted three of 10 break points advancing to his third semifinal of the season.
A 2015 Munich semifinalist, Bautista Agut is bidding for his first final since January when he won his fifth career ATP title in Chennai.
The 18th-ranked Bautista Agut has not dropped a set to Zverev in two prior meetings, including a straight-sets win on the Hamburg red clay back when Zverev was just 17 years old. This will be their first meeting since the 2015 Rotterdam.