09:38
Interim conclusion
Apparently Alexander Zverev would like to win a smooth match again. At least that’s how the 8th seeded German performed so far, sweeping past Nicolás Jarry in 24 minutes. The two-time ATP champion only allowed himself one unforced error.
09:36
Zverev – Jarry 6:1
Zverev has so far scored a point in his own service. And it stays that way. The Hamburger flies to zero to win the set.
09:35
Zverev – Jarry 5:1
But now Zverev has it on his own, can save the set and clearly intends to do so as quickly as possible.
09:34
Zverev – Jarry 5:1
In fact, there is a sense of achievement for the Chilean, he manages to keep a clean sheet in this game, gets his first win of the game and makes the result a little more bearable.
09:33
Zverev – Jarry 5:0
Jarry hits a winner – even with his backhand. Three points in one game is a novelty for the 27-year-old.
09:32
Zverev – Jarry 5:0
In order to avoid the really bad attrition, Jarry should now play through his serve game. Zverev doesn’t hit a forehand cleanly, so the first point goes to the Chilean.
09:30
Zverev – Jarry 5:0
For the second time, Zverev keeps a clean sheet thanks to his service. There is nothing to return for Jarry. That must be frustrating for the South American. He’s threatened with a bagel.
09:29
Zverev – Jarry 4:0
Jarry has scored four points in the match so far. And Zverev doesn’t even think about offering anything. The Olympic champion serves as if from a single source, which is now standard for him.
09:28
Zverev – Jarry 4:0
Jarry has to go over second. But the next backhand causes another slight mistake. The edge of the net thwarts the Chilean’s plans. That gives Zverev the double break to make it 4-0.
09:27
Zverev – Jarry 3:0
Then another cross-played backhand from Jarry sails out of bounds. Zverev gets a break ball again.
09:26
Zverev – Jarry 3:0
Nothing works for Jarry. Whatever the 27-year-old tries, Zverev has an answer, if it is even necessary. The Chilean hardly ever makes the first serve (33 percent). 0:30!
09:24
Zverev – Jarry 3:0
Zverev is really in motion, plays the balls as he wants, lets his opponent run diligently until he simply can’t do it anymore.
09:22
Zverev – Jarry 3:0
In response, Zverev fires his first ace. The 26-year-old seems extremely focused and doesn’t make any easy mistakes at all. He now resolutely sinks a drive volley with his backhand. Shortly afterwards, Jarry doesn’t get the return. So the German makes it 3-0.
09:20
Zverev – Jarry 2:0
Now Jarry actually hits the line with a backhand return. Zverev is unable to handle the ball as it slips slightly, meaning he loses a point as a server for the first time.
09:20
Zverev – Jarry 2:0
The South American is clearly trying to play less risky. This opens up opportunities for Zverev. His cross backhand is strong. Jarry repeatedly fails to make it over the obstacle. This is the early break for the Olympic champion!
09:18
Zverev – Jarry 1:0
For a change, Jarry rolls a backhand into the net and offers two break points.
09:17
Zverev – Jarry 1:0
Additionally, Jarry continues to have the length issue. And it is always the backhand that lands too late for him. Only when a forehand return from the German landed just out of bounds shortly afterwards did the Chilean score his first point in the match.
09:16
Zverev – Jarry 1:0
Jarry has to try for the second one, then attacks with a actually good forehand ball. But Zverev counters strongly, pulling his backhand down the line again in an exemplary manner.
09:15
Zverev – Jarry 1:0
Zverev attacks immediately, plays the backhand longline out of reach and races to a 1-0 goal.
09:14
Zverev – Jarry 0:0
When trying to get a good length in his shots, the Chilean doesn’t find the right amount. Again and again the felt ball touches down too late. This quickly gives Zverev three game balls.
09:12
1 sentence
Now Zverev opens the match. The first serve comes straight away. A little later Jarry gets a backhand too long.
09:06
Entry and coin toss
At this moment our protagonists enter the square. After a few steps of preparation, you meet with the British chair umpire Richard Haigh for the vote at the net. The coin falls in favor of the Chilean, who opts for reverse. Afterwards they both play together some more.
08:59
Head 2 Head
By the way, our two opponents have exactly the same body measurements: they are 1.98 meters tall and weigh 90 kilograms. This will be the sixth time they have met in an official match. There were three duels in 2019. In Barcelona Jarry won in three sets. Shortly afterwards in the final in Geneva, Zverev turned the tables and prevailed a little later in Hamburg. The conflict only continued this season. In the semi-finals in Geneva, the Chilean struck in two sets. All of these matches took place on clay. The German had the better end on the pitch in Halle. This is the first time we’re playing against each other on a hard court.
08:51
Shortly
Daniil Medvedev has just converted his first match point and beat Ugo Humbert 6:4, 3:6, 6:1 after a good two hours of play. This means that the Diamond Court is now free to determine the semi-final opponent of the second seeded Russian.
08:44
Zverev currently almost always plays over three sets
In any case, Zverev is still feeling the tailwind of his recent success. Almost a week ago, the 26-year-old won his 21st career title in the 250cc in Chengdu, his second this year after Hamburg (500cc). There too, the Olympic champion needed three sets in three of four matches. And even the two-set match against Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinals lasted almost two hours. The tenth in the world rankings currently seems less interested in short working days. To put it positively, even if Zverev loses a set, he knows that he can always come back.
08:12
More delay
In fact, the current match is going into the third set because Medvedev threw away his service with four double faults – three of them in a row – and Humbert subsequently didn’t allow himself to be denied the equalizer of the set. Accordingly, we have to be patient a little longer and expect that it will probably start around 9:00 a.m. CEST.
08:01
Will be later
Ugo Humbert and Daniil Medvedev are currently on the Diamond Court. The second movement is currently entering the decisive phase. It is not yet clear whether the second seeded Russian will make it through smoothly. His French rival is still resisting. So the start of our match will be delayed.
07:50
Zverev in Beijing
Zverev is in the main draw at this event for the fifth time since 2016, after finishing in the first qualifying round a year earlier. In 2017 and 2019, the Hamburger reached the semi-finals. Since then, the tournament has not taken place due to pandemic reasons and was only brought back to life this year. The 8th seeded German had always lost the first set in the tie-break in his previous matches, but then defeated Diego Schwartzman and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina with some certainty. After the night shift against the last-mentioned Spaniard, the right-hander at least had a day’s break – but only for a limited time, as he was eliminated in the doubles match alongside Marcelo Melo yesterday.
07:39
Jarry in China
Jarry achieved his best Masters result on Chinese soil. That was also a round of 16 in Shanghai 2018. The Chilean is taking part in Beijing for the first time and started with a surprising two-set win against 4th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday. Then it was against the unseeded Italian Matteo Arnaldi over the full distance. After being down a set and having two tie-breaks, Jarry, who was also unseeded, made it to the quarter-finals.
07:28
Jarry
Jarry is a 27-year-old Chilean who has been listed as a professional since 2014 and who recently reached his highest ranking position as number 22 in the world. The right-hander is currently 23. On the ATP tour, Jarry has reached five finals – all in 250s – and won three of them, starting in 2019 in Båstad, Sweden. After an almost four-year dry spell, he made it into two finals again this season and won in his hometown of Santiago de Chile as well as in Geneva. On the big stage, the clay court specialist has a round of 16 at the French Open as his best major result.
07:17
Welcome
Welcome to the China Open! The quarterfinals are on the hard court at the 500 tournament in Beijing today. Alexander Zverev meets Chilean Nicolás Jarry. The match is scheduled to begin at around 8:00 a.m. CEST.