Yannick Hanfmann has reached the quarterfinals of the ATP tournament in Rome. The qualifier won in three sets against the top ten player Andrej Rublev. Alexander Zverev, on the other hand, was defeated by Daniil Medvedev and thus lost his status as German number one.
Even getting into the round of 16 was Hanfmann’s best result of his career at a Masters tournament – and now he’s facing another highlight in Rome. In the quarterfinals, the 31-year-old meets Daniil Medvedev, who defeated Alexander Zverev in straight sets.
Hanfmann ends the game with an ace
Against Rublev (number six in the world), Yannick Hanfmann showed enthusiastic tennis over long stretches and showed nerves of steel, especially in tricky situations. The German tennis pro won the first set in a tie-break with 7:6 (7:5), after losing the second round (4:6) Hanfmann reported back and scored his first match point after 2:32 hours Ace to 6: 3 in the third set.
Strong way in Rome
Hanfmann had played his way into the main draw in Rome via qualification. In the second round, he surprisingly prevailed against world number ninth Taylor Fritz from the USA. This was only his second success against a top 10 player. The third victory followed immediately against Rublev.
“I’m a bit speechless about the energy performance today. It’s unbelievable that I’m able to win like this here today after three tough games“Said Hanfmann on “Sky”: “Let’s see where the journey goes. It would be nice if I could on Sascha (Zverev, Anm. d. Red.) meet, that would be awesome.“
Two games a day for Zverev
But nothing came of it. The Olympic champion from Hamburg went into the explosive match against Daniil Medvedev with high hopes. But the third in the world rankings from Moscow determined the game from the start and celebrated the ninth victory in the 15th duel with Zverev after 1:56 hours with a 6:2, 7:6 (7:3). It was the second act of the day for Zverev.
In the morning he initially won the continuation of his game against the American Jeffrey John Wolf (USA), which had been canceled on Monday due to rain, 6:4, 7:5.
Third loss against Medvedev
In the evening, Zverev conceded the third bankruptcy in a row at a Masters against Medvedev in 2023. The last duel in Monte Carlo ended badly. “He’s one of the most unfair players we have in the world,” Zverev was annoyed by the antics of the former US Open winner after the round of 16 defeat. However, there was a debate at the Masters in Madrid.
In the “eternal city” the duel remained calm – until Medvedev’s service game after his break in the second set to 4: 3. He felt disturbed by the heckling of a spectator and had this sent from the system. However, his concentration was gone, and he promptly conceded the rebreak to compensate.
Alexander Zverev is eliminated in the round of 16 of the Rom Masters against Daniil Medvedev
Medvedev had previously safely downplayed his program on the baseline, Zverev tried in vain to seize the game with risky balls. The result was too many mistakes. After 33 minutes and two breaks to make it 1-0 and 5-2, Medvedev won the first set. In an exciting final phase, Medvedev had better nerves in the tie-break.
Struff new German number one
As a result of his defeat in the round of 16, Zverev lost five places in the world rankings and will be number 27 directly behind Struff next Monday. The Warsteiner had recently jumped to 26th place with his participation in the final in Madrid against the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.
