Reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev rode a roller coaster in front of his home crowd in Hamburg on Friday. And even with his back against the wall, the German’s backhand down the line helped him get off the ride with a smile.
Zverev rallied from a set and a break down to defeat Serbian Filip Krajinovic 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 after two hours and minutes, advancing to the semi-finals of the Hamburg European Open.
Krajinovic was on the verge of earning his second Top 10 triumph when he served for the match at 6-2, 5-3, but the home favourite never relented despite the scoreline. Zverev earned three break points in that game. But even after curling a forehand into the net on his first chance and failing to get out of the way of a body serve on his second, Zverev finally broke through with a backhand down the line winner, letting out a massive roar.
Although Krajinovic battled hard after falling behind an immediate break in the third set, getting back on serve, Zverev rifled yet another backhand down the line winner on the full stretch to retake the lead, and he never looked back from there. The second seed won 91 per cent of his first-serve points in the decider to move on to play defending champion Nikoloz Basilashvili in the semi-finals.
Baslashvili had far less drama in his victory, beating Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-2, 6-3 in 67 minutes. The Georgian has won eight consecutive main draw matches in Hamburg, and he is pursuing his first title of the 2019 season.
Did You Know?
Zverev has won his only previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting against Basilashvili. The German triumphed in Shanghai last year 7-5, 6-4, saving four of the five break points he faced.
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2K5t2eH
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