Alexander Zverev Ends Tsitsipas: At the Rolex Paris Masters on Friday, Alexander Zverev defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas to end the Greek’s hopes of making it to the Nitto ATP Finals, making him just the third active player to reach 20 ATP Masters 1000 semi-finals.
After an hour and forty-four minutes in the French capital, Zverev defeated Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-4, saving the lone break point he faced and hitting with force and purpose in the fast-paced indoor environment.
Alexander Zverev Ends Tsitsipas’ Nitto ATP Finals Hopes with Quarterfinal Win:
“I thought the whole match was a very good level from him,” Zverev stated. “He had some solid chances to break me in the opening and got off to a blazing start. Not break point-wise, perhaps, but game-wise. I entered the match, settled into a rhythm, became more at ease, and am pleased with the victory.”
Zverev became the first player born in the 1990s to acquire 100 Top 20 wins (100–101), joining Novak Djokovic (78) and Rafael Nadal (76) as 20-time Masters 1000 semi-finalists. Second place goes to Daniil Medvedev, a 1996 native who is 28 years old and has a 99-73 record.
After victory in Rome, Zverev is vying for his second Masters 1000 championship of the year. The German will play between Australian Alex de Minaur or Dane Holger Rune in the the finals after moving to 6-10 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head matchup with Tsitsipas.
“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 stated about Tsitsipas. “He is a forehand player who has the ability to move ahead and be quite aggressive. I was pleased to remove that.
Although Tsitsipas is currently ranked eleventh in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, she is no longer eligible to compete in the Nitto ATP Finals, which will take place from November 10–17. 13th-place Rune (2,825 points) and eighth-place De Minaur (3,745 points) are still in the running for qualification.
Next week, Zverev will go to Turin to compete for his third championship in the esteemed year-end competition. The 27-year-old won the Nitto ATP Finals in 2018 and 2021 and has already secured his place in northern Italy.
With a 45–22 record towards the end of the season, Tsitsipas‘ march to the Monte-Carlo title stood out. The World No. 11 hasn’t been in the Top 10 of the the PIF ATP Rankings at the end court the previous year since 2018.
Only eight players in history have advanced to 20 ATP Masters 1000 semifinals, including Zverev. He joins Pete Sampras (31), Andy Murray (33), Andre Agassi (32), Roger Federer (66), Rafael Nadal (76), Djokovic (78), and Andy Roddick (20).
