Paris Masters: Alexander Zverev beats Stefanos Tsitsipas as Holger Rune stays in race for ATP Finals
German third seed Alexander Zverev knocks Stefanos Tsitsipas out of Paris Masters; Holger Rune outlasts Alex de Minaur to keep his hopes alive of reaching the ATP Finals; Karen Khachanov to face Ugo Humbert in semi-finals; watch the Paris Masters live on Sky Sports
Alexander Zverev advanced to the semi-finals of the Rolex Paris Masters by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5 6-4 and knocking the Greek player out of contention for the ATP Finals.
The first break-point opportunity of the match came in the 11th game as Tsitsipas struggled with his first serve, with Zverev getting the break for 6-5 on an unforced error.
Tsitsipas saved two set points but squandered his only break-point chance with his 17th unforced error, before Zverev closed out the set. The third-seeded German also saved the only break point he faced on his way to his 64th victory of the year.
- Stream live tennis on Sky Sports and more with NOWGet Sky Sports on WhatsAppDownload the Sky Sports App I Follow @SkySportsTennis
Zverev – the French Open runner-up – broke again in the third game of the second set to take full control and rattled off 12 straight points in his final three service games, seeing him become just the third active player to reach 20 ATP Masters 1000 semi-finals.
“I felt like I could hit it quite hard today and against him, if you are just pushing it back, he is going to make you pay,” Zverev said on Tsitsipas. “He is someone on the forehand side who can be so aggressive and he can move forward. So I was happy to take that away.”
The victory sees Zverev beat Daniil Medvedev to the milestone of the first player born in the 1990s to record 100 wins over top-20 players, while Tsitsipas’ defeat ends his run of five consecutive appearances at the ATP Finals.
Tsitsipas is 11th in the ATP Live Race to Turin but can no longer qualify for the season finale, held from November 10-17, with eighth-placed Alex de Minaur (3,745 points) and 13th-placed Holger Rune (2,825 points) still in contention.
Rune outlasted De Minaur 6-4 4-6 7-5 in a marathon baseline fight that lasted nearly two-and-a-half hours, with the win keeping his hopes alive of overtaking the Australian – who beat Jack Draper in the previous round – in the season-long standings.
The 13th seed would need to win his second Paris title in three years to get within 120 points of De Minaur heading into next week’s events, with De Minaur chasing further points at the ATP 250 event in Belgrade and Rune set to play in the ATP 250 in Metz.
Twitter This content is provided by Twitter, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Twitter cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Twitter cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow Twitter cookies for this session only. Enable Cookies Allow Cookies Once
Grigor Dimitrov’s hopes of making the finals were set back after the 2023 Paris finalist was upset by 2018 champion Karen Khachanov 6-2 6-3.
Khachanov had lost their four previous matches but capitalised on Dimitrov running out of steam and beat him in straight sets.
Khachanov will face home favourite Ugo Humbert in the semi-finals after the Frenchman defeated Australia’s Jordan Thompson 6-2 7-6 (4), a day after stunning Carlos Alcaraz.
What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis?
- Hong Kong Tennis Open – WTA 250 (October 28 – November 3)Jiangxi Open – WTA 250 (October 28 – November 3)Merida Open Akron – WTA 250 (October 28 – November 3)Rolex Paris Masters – ATP 1000 (October 28 – November 3)WTA Finals Riyadh – (November 2-9)Belgrade Open – ATP 250 (November 3-9)Moselle Open, Metz – ATP 250 (November 3-9)Nitto ATP Finals, Turin – (November 10-17)
Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
