Daniil Medvedev dispatches home hope Alexander Zverev to reach Halle final
Daniil Medvedev
MUNICH: Russian Daniil Medvedev dispatched home favourite Alexander Zverev in three sets to reach the finals of the ATP tournament in Halle on Saturday.
The world number 11 came through 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (3/7), 6-4 after an exceptional baseline battle lasing just under three hours.
On Sunday, Medvedev will play in his first final on the tour since March 2024, against either fellow Russian Karen Khachanov or Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik.
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It was the 20th clash between two players of the same generation with Medvedev, 29, now leading 28-year-old Zverev 13-7.
A finalist in Stuttgart last week Zverev had been hoping to go one better on the grass of Halle after being a losing finalist at the tournament in 2016 and 2017.
But former world number one Medvedev once against proved a tough opponent for the second seed, having won 12 of their last 14 duels, the last in the semi-finals of the Australian Open at the end of January 2024.
The 2021 US Open winner and two-time Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2023 and 2024, Medvedev squandered a break lead 2-0 and three early match points on Zverev's serve (6-5) in the second set, and was pushed into a decisive third set.
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But he wrapped up the match just under an hour later on his fifth opportunity with a forehand winner sending him through to his second final in Halle where he finished runner-up in 2022.
For his 21st tour title, his first since his triumph on the clay courts of Rome in May 2023, Medvedev will challenge either 22nd-ranked Khachanov, or 2023 Halle winner Bublik, ranked 45, who claimed the scalp of world number one Jannik Sinner in the second round.
ALCARAZ SETS UP QUEEN'S FINAL CLASH WITH LEHECKA
Carlos Alcaraz reached the Queen's Club final for the second time as the world number two eased to a 6-4, 6-4 win over Roberto Bautista Agut on Saturday.
Alcaraz extended his career-best winning streak to 17 matches in a semi-final played in sweltering conditions at the Wimbledon warm-up event in west London.
The five-time Grand Slam champion hit 36 winners and 15 aces to dispatch his fellow Spaniard in 90 minutes.
Top seeded Alcaraz will face Jiri Lehecka in Sunday's final after the Czech world number 30's shock 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win against British star Jack Draper in the other semi-final.
Playing his first tournament since his epic French Open victory against Jannik Sinner two weeks ago, the 22-year-old is through to his fifth successive final after lifting titles on clay in Paris, Rome, Barcelona and Monte Carlo.
Alcaraz signalled his emergence as a grass-court force by winning Queen's in 2023, clinching the Wimbledon title for the first time just weeks later and defending his All England Club crown last year.
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He is one victory away from becoming only the second Spaniard to win Queen's twice, after Feliciano Lopez's victories in 2017 and 2019.
Alcaraz wasted little time taking control against Bautista Agut, unfurling a deft drop-shot to break in the third game of the match.
That was all the encouragement Alcaraz needed as he held serve with ease to close out the first set.
Bautista Agut, 37, enjoyed a surprise win over Danish fourth seed Holger Rune in the last eight.
But Alcaraz never looked like suffering the same fate and he delivered the knockout blow in the second set.
A whipped forehand down the line earned a break-point that he converted to move 3-2 ahead.
The nerveless Alcaraz finished off the win in typically ruthless fashion to the delight of the fans waving Spanish flags to salute their hero.
VONDROUSOVA SURPRISES SABALENKA TO REACH BERLIN FINAL
Marketa Vondrousova brushed aside world number one Aryna Sabalenka in Berlin on Saturday to reach her first final since lifting the Wimbledon title two years ago.
The 25-year-old Czech, ranked 164 in the world rankings, dominated Sabalenka 6-2, 6-4, to set up a title clash on Sunday with Wang Xinyu after the Chinese qualifier downed Liudmila Samsonova 6-4, 6-1.
Vondrousova plummeted down the rankings from sixth after missing several months with a left shoulder injury for which she underwent surgery last year.
"I didn't play for a long time," said Vondrousova, who was appearing in her first WTA semi-final since April last year.
"I'm just happy to be back healthy, and so grateful to play these matches.
"When I saw the field here, I was like, 'OK, let's just try to win the first round,' and then, you know, now this is happening."
Sabalenka's first serve let her down in the opening set, but the Belarusian fought back to start the second with a break.
Two games down Vondrousova levelled at 2-2, then broke to lead 5-4, wrapping up the win -- her first ever over a world number one -- but not before saving three consecutive break points, with an ace after one hour five minutes of play.
Sabalenka, 27, was losing only her first semi-final in eight last four appearances in 2025.
Wang, Vondrousova's Sunday rival on the grass in Berlin, continued her "dream" run, adding the scalp of Russian Samsonova to those already collected this week including French Open champion Coco Gauff.
For the 23-year-old, Sunday is a landmark moment - her first singles final on the WTA circuit.
"This week has been a dream for me," Wang said.
"I've been playing unbelievable tennis here. I don't know, it's something with Berlin, I guess!
"Coming into this match here, coming into every match, I wasn't expecting anything, you know. For me, it was really just to enjoy the stage."
Vondrousova in contrast is appearing in her sixth final, winning in Bern (2017), Wimbledon (2023), and she was a losing finalist at Roland Garros and at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
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