Jannik Sinner overcomes Jan-Lennard Struff, Alexander Zverev fires past Arthur Fils to reach Halle Open semi-finals
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Updated 21/06/2024 at 19:46 GMT
Alexander Zverev defeated France's Arthur Fils 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4 in Halle on Friday, taking a step closer to winning his maiden title on grass before Wimbledon. The German second seed now faces Pole Hubert Hurkacz in the semi-finals on Saturday. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner also survived a thrilling three-set clash with Jan-Lennard Struff to book his spot in the semi-finals.
Highlights: Sinner beats Struff at Halle Open
Jannik Sinner moved into the semi-finals in Halle after surviving a thrilling three-set battle with Jan-Lennard Struff 6-2 6-7(1) 7-6(3) on Friday.
The 22-year-old Italian was pushed to three sets by the German but looked stronger than in his first two matches of the week, which both went to three sets.
Sinner swept to the first set within 30 minutes as Struff struggled early, having his serve broken twice by his opponent.
Australian Open champion Sinner looked strong in the second set too and he threatened to overpower Struff. The German saved a break point in the fourth game and in the sixth he fended off three more to save himself once again and take the set to a tie-break.
Struff took control of the breaker thanks to a poor start from Sinner and forced a third set.
Sinner came close to an early break at the start of the third but Struff managed to escape the situation.
A stirring finale set saw both players create chances, with Struff forcing Sinner to serve to stay in the match.
Like the second, the third set went to a tie-break and this time Sinner took control. He secured an early mini-break, took a 3-0 lead and then clinched the win on his second match point.
"It was a very tough match," Sinner said after the match.
"I had chances in the second, had chances in the third, but couldn't use them. It was 0-40 [in the first game of the third set]. I just try to accept these kind of challenges.
"Obviously it has been very tough, also mentally. I'm very pleased to be in the next round, I played a lot yesterday, I played a lot also today. Two and a half hours on grass, it's a long time.
"I'll try to recover for tomorrow and hopefully show some good tennis."
Sinner now awaits the winner of the match between Christopher Eubanks and Zhang Zhizhen, the latter who upset Daniil Medvedev earlier in the week.
Zverev battles past fils
Alexander Zverev took a step closer to winning his maiden grass-court title after beating Arthur Fils 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4 in Halle.
The 27-year-old now faces Hubert Hurkacz in the semi-finals on Saturday.
The German, seeded second in Halle, started slowly and lost the first set to the Frenchman. He raised his level in the second set though as he took the match to Fils, breaking him to love at 3-2 as Zverev won eight consecutive points.
Having levelled the encounter, the third set saw the heavens open and rain plummet down onto the OWL Arena and the roof was soon closed, creating a dome in which Zverev's home crowd could cheer him to victory.
In the third set, 94% of Zverev's points were won on the first serve, and he broke Fils at 5-4 before clinching the decisive game.
“After the French Open, I was hoping on grass I would play a bit quicker and not play for two-and-a-half, three hours every single match, but I’m continuing what I always do,” the Roland-Garros finalist said. “I’m happy to be winning and be in the semi-finals.”
The Italian Open champion is now the first player since Roger Federer to reach back-to-back semi-finals in Halle - a key warm-up before Wimbledon.
Zverev will face Halle's 2022 champion Hurkacz, who beat American Marcos Giron 7-6(5) 6-4 earlier on Friday.
The Pole is into his third semi-final of the season and sits at a career-high No. 7 in the world after ousting Giron.
“It’s always great,” Hurkacz said after beating Giron. “You are getting close to the finishing stages of the tournament and that’s why you go to the tournament, to be in this position. I’m really happy with my performance.”
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