SHANGHAI: Top seed Alexander Zverev beat Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday to reach the Rolex Shanghai Masters semi-finals at Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena.
The German saved three consecutive break points after taking the first break, then broke again late in the second set. He completed the victory in 78 minutes.
Zverev has already secured the year-end world No. 1 ranking. This is his third Shanghai semi-final and his first since 2019. “It was a huge step up from the last couple of matches,” Zverev said.
He had needed three sets to win each of his previous two matches. Against De Minaur, he used his forehand to secure the opening break in the fifth game.
Despite a double fault, Zverev held serve through the Australian’s immediate challenge. A backhand at the net helped him close the first set in the 10th game.
Another break in the seventh game put Zverev 4-3 ahead in the second set. He finished on his first match point.
Zverev hit 10 aces and won 80% of points behind his first serve. In the other quarter-final, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina advanced when France’s Arthur Gea retired injured after 22 minutes.
Gea took a medical timeout while trailing 1-4 in the opening set. He briefly returned before ending the match.
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The 21-year-old said he had felt pain during the morning warm-up and received treatment before deciding to play. He concluded that continuing would pose too great a risk for the rest of his season.
Gea, ranked 56th, was competing in his first Masters 1000 tournament. Zverev faces Davidovich Fokina in Saturday’s semi-final.
(With additional input from Agence France-Presse)
