Spoiler:
German seeks third straight win vs. Alcaraz in Sunday's final
Alexander Zverev avenged a Monte Carlo semi-final loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas with a three-set victory at the same stage on Saturday at the Mutua Madrid Open. The German advances to face the turbo-charged Carlos Alcaraz in the final following a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory in Manolo Santana Stadium.
In a match that largely favoured the server throughout, Zverev capitalised on his first two break opportunities to set him on the path to his 10th ATP Masters 1000 final. The second seed is seeking his sixth title at that level, with his five current crowns the most of any active player outside the Big 4.
After Tsitsipas broke late in the second set on his first look on the return, the German quickly turned the tide by winning the opening three games of the decider. Firmly in the ascendency, he missed out on a break point at 4-2 before closing out the match with his third break of the one-hour, 53-minute contest.
Zverev bounced back from a difficult serving day in the quarter-finals to make 73 per cent of his first serves (48/66) against the Greek, winning a stellar 83 per cent of those points. He improved his ATP Head2Head record to 4-7 against Tsitsipas, earning his first clay-court win over the fourth seed in the process.
He also moved to 8-1 against Top 10 opponents in Madrid, where his overall record is a pristine19-2.
More to come...
Alexander Zverev avenged a Monte Carlo semi-final loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas with a three-set victory at the same stage on Saturday at the Mutua Madrid Open. The German advances to face the turbo-charged Carlos Alcaraz in the final following a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory in Manolo Santana Stadium.
In a match that largely favoured the server throughout, Zverev capitalised on his first two break opportunities to set him on the path to his 10th ATP Masters 1000 final. The second seed is seeking his sixth title at that level, with his five current crowns the most of any active player outside the Big 4.
After Tsitsipas broke late in the second set on his first look on the return, the German quickly turned the tide by winning the opening three games of the decider. Firmly in the ascendency, he missed out on a break point at 4-2 before closing out the match with his third break of the one-hour, 53-minute contest.
Zverev bounced back from a difficult serving day in the quarter-finals to make 73 per cent of his first serves (48/66) against the Greek, winning a stellar 83 per cent of those points. He improved his ATP Head2Head record to 4-7 against Tsitsipas, earning his first clay-court win over the fourth seed in the process.
He also moved to 8-1 against Top 10 opponents in Madrid, where his overall record is a pristine19-2.
More to come...