ATP Cincinnati: Alexander Zverev after beating Casper Ruud in the semifinals

Zverev was looking forward to the revenge for the lost semifinals at this year’s French Open in Paris after the success against Ruud.

“‘Stef’ is in incredible shape. But when you’re in the semifinals of an ATP Masters, you play your best tennis. I also feel like I’m playing my best tennis, can compete against anyone and beat anyone”, said Zverev.

In the duel with Ruud, Zverev quickly made things clear in the first round through two breaks. At the beginning of the second set he lost his serve, but celebrated his ninth win in a row after a rebreak to 3: 3 and three more games in a row.

Zverev’s record against Tsitsipas is clearly negative with only two wins in the previous eight duels since 2018. Before Paris he won the current season against the 23-year-old in the final at the ATP tournament in Acapulco, but had to admit defeat in all five previous comparisons with Tsitsipas.

Grand Slam victory as a big goal

After the Olympic victory and the success at the ATP season finale in 2018, Zverev’s main goal is triumph in a Grand Slam tournament. At the US Open (August 30th to September 12th live on Eurosport) The world number five is considered one of the favorites. In the previous year, Zverev in New York failed in the final against Dominic Thiem from Austria.

However, Thiem will not be at the last Grand Slam tournament of the year, as will the injured old master Roger Federer from Switzerland. It was only on Friday that the Spanish Grand Slam record winner Rafael Nadal canceled his participation due to persistent foot problems and ended his season prematurely.

(SID)