By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, July 29, 2023
Alexander Zverev saved all three break points he faced sweeping Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-4 to set up a Hamburg final vs. Laslo Djere.
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve
Alexander Zverev was born in Hamburg and is celebrating German rebirth at the Hamburg European Open.
Zverev saved all three break points he faced sweeping Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-4 to charge into his maiden Hamburg final.
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The fourth-seeded German has not dropped a set advancing to his first final since the 2022 Mutua Madrid Open.
Continuing his hunt to become the first German man since Michael Stich in 1994 to win Hamburg, Zverev will face Laslo Djere in tomorrow's final.
Zverev is 2-0 lifetime against Djere sweeping all five sets they've played, including a 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 win at the 2021 Roland Garros in their lone prior clay-court clash.
Earlier, Djere defeated semifinal debutant Zhizhen Zhang 6-3, 6-2.
World No. 57 Djere served 67 percent and won 27 of 28 first-serve points. In fact, Djere dropped just five points on serve in a one-hour win to reach his fifth career final.
Facing the 19-year-old Fils, a day after the Frenchman crushed top-seeded Casper Ruud, 6-0, 6-4, Zverev clearly studied his teenage opponent's preferred patterns of play.
Today, Zverev targeted the Fils' backhand wing to good effect.
A jittery Fils double-faulted and sprayed a wild backhand to gift the opening break to Zverev.
The Olympic gold-medal champion's two-handed backhand is one of the best in the sport—Taylor Fritz called it the top two-hander on the ATP Tour—and he used it to corner the Frenchman into crosscourt backhand exchanges. Zverev won a volley duel at net scoring his second straight break for 3-0.
Slamming his first ace, Zverev consolidated for a firm 4-0 lead after 21 minutes of play.
Slashing successive aces, Zverev closed the opening set in 37 minutes. The Hamburg native pumped five aces and saved both break points he faced in the first set.
Even when he was behind in games, Zverev showed the tenacity to turn it up. Fils led 40-15 to star the second set, but Zverev barged through to break for the third time.
Fighting back om 15-40 down, Zverev held strong for a one-set, 2-0 lead.
Serving for his first final of the season, Zverev showed tenacity saving a break point then landing a running strike off the baseline to convert his fourth match point and close in 91 minutes.