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German rolls past tournament debutant Fearnley, next faces Humbert or Fils
January 17, 2025
Alexander Zverev reaches the Australian Open fourth round for the sixth time, equaling Boris Becker's Open Era record for German men.
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Alexander Zverev reaches the Australian Open fourth round for the sixth time, equaling Boris Becker's Open Era record for German men.
By ATP Staff
Alexander Zverev continued his dominant Australian Open progress with a third consecutive straight-sets win on Friday in Melbourne. The No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings eased past Great Britain's Jacob Fearnley 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, setting up a fourth-round showdown against the winner of the all-French matchup between Ugo Humbert and Arthur Fils.

While Zverev maintained his perfect set record this fortnight, he was broken for the first time in the tournament by the 23-year-old Fearnley. After 35 holds to begin his campaign, Zverev lost serve once in the second and third sets — though he sandwiched those games between two breaks of his own to come out ahead.

"I think my opponent did a great job of maximising today," Zverev said of Fearnley. "[He] was very aggressive, returning quite well. I'm happy with a straight-sets win. Much more difficult conditions to play [compared to previous rounds]. In the first few matches, [there] were perfect conditions, no wind at all. [Today was] obviously very different."

In the pair's first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, Zverev hit 25 winners and won 14 of 17 net points, according to Infosys Stats.


By reaching the Australian Open fourth round for the sixth time, Zverev matched Boris Becker's Open Era record for German men. With 21 total Grand Slam fourth-round appearances, Zverev now trails only Becker's 31 for most among German men.

A Melbourne semi-finalist in both 2020 and 2024, Zverev is bidding for his maiden Grand Slam title this fortnight. A two-time major finalist, he came within a set of glory at the 2020 US Open and last year at Roland Garros.

Fearnley was bidding to become the seventh man to reach the Australian Open fourth round on debut in the past 10 years. Instead, the 2024 NCAA team champion with Texas Christian University (TCU) must settle for the consolation of leaving the hard-court Grand Slam at No. 77 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, up 15 places this week.

German drops first set of tournament but he remains unbeaten in 2025

World No. 2 Alexander Zverev is chasing his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.
© AFP/Getty Images

by ATP Staff

Australian Open — Jan 19

Alexander Zverev claimed a jaw-dropping 26th consecutive win against left-handed players as he defeated Ugo Humbert 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals Sunday.

The World No. 2, seeking his maiden Grand Slam title, will next meet former Australian Open semi-finalist Tommy Paul, who dropped just three games in a runaway win over Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who was at less than full fitness following his back-to-back comebacks from two sets down in the previous two rounds.

“I’m extremely happy to be in the quarter-finals after losing only one set, and my opponent played incredible [to win that set],” Zverev said. “A week ago I was very unsure of my level. I couldn’t play many points in practice or prepare the way I wanted.”


Improving to 3-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Humbert, Zverev clipped 43 winners, including 19 aces, according to Infosys Stats.

The 27-year-old remains unbeaten in six matches this season and has won 14 of his past 15 matches dating back to his title run at the Rolex Paris Masters in November.

Zverev won his first three matches at Melbourne Park in straight sets against Lucas Pouille, Pedro Martinez and Jacob Fearnley.

Zverev’s quarter-final opponent will be 12th seed Paul, after the American ended Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s marathon Melbourne run in emphatic fashion. Paul prevailed 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 in just 87 minutes against the Spaniard, who had recovered from two-sets-to-love down in both his second and third-round matches.

German saved set point in opening two sets vs. Paul, awaits Alcaraz or Djokovic
January 21, 2025
Alexander Zverev continues his bid for a maiden Grand Slam title.
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Alexander Zverev continues his bid for a maiden Grand Slam title.
By ATP Staff
Alexander Zverev advanced to his third Australian Open semi-final with a dramatic 7-6(1), 7-6(0), 2-6, 6-1 victory against Tommy Paul on Tuesday. The No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings saved a set point in each of the first two sets and denied Paul's attempt to serve out both sets in Rod Laver Arena.

"To be honest, I should have been down two sets to love," Zvered told Jim Courier in his on-court interview. "He played better than me. I was not playing great and I thought he was. I somehow won the first set, somehow won the second set, and I'm up two sets to love all of a sudden and I need only one more set.

"The fourth set was definitely the best that I've played and I'm obviously extremely happy to be back in the semi-finals now."

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Through to his ninth Grand Slam semi-final, the German awaits the winner of the evening showdown between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. Both men's semi-finals will be played on Friday, giving both Zverev and his opponent two days off.

"Two of the best players that probably ever touched a tennis racquet," Zverev said of the marquee quarter-final. "Novak is the greatest of all time right now. Carlos is going to be one of them when he hangs it up, so it's a clash of generations. They have played Grand Slam finals before. They played the Olympic final last year, so it's a privilege to to witness it here in Australia... I think it's it's going to be a great match."


Zverev earned his first win in three Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings with Paul by dominating the crucial points. Capitalising on untimely errors by Paul late in the opening two sets, Zverev took full advantage of his second lives.

The competitors traded breaks from 5-5 in the opener, with Zverev saving set point at 6-5, 40/30 on the Paul serve and then racing through the tie-break. The American notched an early break in set two but was undone by three consecutive forehand errors as he was broken at love for 5-4. Zverev then saved a set point at 4-5, 40/30 and later won 11 consecutive points to snatch the set, following a love hold at 5-6 with a 7/0 tie-break victory.

Both players were broken four times in the topsy-turvy match, according to Infosys Stats, and even the 6-1 final set was far from straightforward. Zverev was denied a 6-0 scoreline by a brilliant one-handed passing shot, then had to fight off two break points as Paul made one last stand.

Though Paul's all-court tennis troubled the steadier Zverev throughout the match, his 44 winners and 74 per cent win rate at net (35/47) were countered by 56 unforced errors.

With his 30th Australian Open match win, Zverev passed Boris Becker to claim sole ownership of the all-time record for most singles wins by a German man at the event. While Becker is a six-time major singles champion, Zverev is now two wins away from his first Grand Slam crown.

Paul can take consolation in the knowledge that he is guaranteed his Top 10 debut in the PIF ATP Rankings following the Aussie Open. Up two places to No. 9 this week in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, Paul can only be passed this fortnight by countryman Ben Shelton — should Shelton win the title.

While Paul was unable to become the second active American player (along with Frances Tiafoe) to reach multiple Grand Slam singles semi-finals, Shelton will seek to accomplish the same feat when he takes on Lorenzo Sonego on Wednesday.