Rome (AP) – Shortly before the French Open, Alexander Zverev is getting better and better. At the Masters 1000 tournament in Rome, the tennis Olympic champion made it into the semifinals.
The 25-year-old beat Chilean clay court specialist Cristian Garin 7-5, 6-2. The German number one only had some difficulties in the first set, but fought through. In the second section, Zverev made two quick breaks, which broke Garin’s resistance.
“It was a high-level match,” said Zverev. “It wasn’t always nice to watch, but I did my job. I’m very happy to be in the semi-finals.”
In the fight for the final, Zverev will have to deal with the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday, who defeated Jannik Sinner from Italy 7: 6 (7: 5), 6: 2. Zverev has already played two semi-finals on clay this season against Tsitsipas: in Madrid the native of Hamburg prevailed in three sets a week ago, in Monte Carlo he had previously clearly lost in two rounds. Overall, the world number five Tsitsipas has won seven out of eleven duels so far. The French Open in Paris starts on May 22nd.