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Qatar Tribune
36 minutes ago
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
Zverev to face nemesis Fritz in Stuttgart final
dpa Stuttgart Alexander Zverev reached the final of the Stuttgart Open where he faces nemesis Taylor Fritz in a duel of top seeds in his bid for a second title of the year on Sunday. Top seed Zverev saved a set point in the first set of his semi-final on Saturday against another American, third seed Ben Shelton, to win 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (7-1). Fritz defeated Canadian fourth seed Felix Auger-Alliasime 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) on a hot afternoon. Fritz has won the last four matches against Zverev to lead their series 7-5, including at last year's Wimbledon, US Open and ATP Finals. Neither Zverev nor Fritz faced a break point on Saturday while Zverev wasted six break points against the big serving Shelton. 'I am happy to be in the final. I will do everything to win tomorrow,' Zverev told broadcasters DF1 as he bids for a first title on grass and 25th of his career. In a rematch of their recent Munich final which Zverev won, the German wasted two break points against Shelton before taking the tight tie-break on his fifth set point with a service winner. Zverev had a slight wobble by missing the first three after leading 6-3, and then had to save one at 7-6 down after conceding four points in a row. Two more break points for Zverev came and went early in the second set, and another two - then match points - at 5-4. But Zverev then breezed through the second tie-break and wrapped up matters with his 15 ace on fourth match point, to go with 35 winners. 'It was a good match. I had break points, but not really because he fired an ace and winners. He is probably the best server in the world,' Zverev said. Earlier, Fritz hit 10 aces and did not face a break point against Auger-Alliasime who managed 15 aces but also accumulated 23 unforced errors, while Fritz had just 12. Fritz clinched the first set thanks to a break in the 10th game when Auger-Alliasime hit a forehand wide on a hot afternoon. Fritz missed his second break point in the fourth game of the second set but prevailed in the tie-break on second match point when Auger-Alliasime hit a backhand wide. 'I am so happy. It seemed it came down to a few points. I felt very lucky to get break in first set. I had more chances in the second. The tiebreak was close but it is great to be in the final,' Fritz said.
Observer
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Observer
Zverev battles Fritz in Stuttgart Open final
STUTTGART: Alexander Zverev reached the final of the Stuttgart Open where he faces nemesis Taylor Fritz in a duel of top seeds in his bid for a second title of the year on Sunday. Top seed Zverev saved a set point in the first set of his semifinal on Saturday against another American, third seed Ben Shelton, to win7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (7-1). Fritz defeated Canadian fourth seed Felix Auger-Alliasime 6-4, 7-6(7-5) on a hot afternoon. Fritz has won the last four matches against Zverev to lead their series 7-5, including at last year's Wimbledon, US Open and ATP Finals. Neither Zverev nor Fritz faced a break point on Saturday while Zverev wasted six break points against the big serving Shelton. "I am happy to be in the final. I will do everything to win tomorrow," Zverev told broadcasters DF1 as he bids for a first title on grass and 25th of his career. In a rematch of their recent Munich final which Zverev won, the German wasted two break points against Shelton before taking the tight tie-break on his fifth set point with a service winner. Zverev had a slight wobble by missing the first three after leading6-3, and then had to save one at 7-6 down after conceding four points in a row. Two more break points for Zverev came and went early in the second set, and another two — then match points - at 5-4. But Zverev then breezed through the second tie-break and wrapped up matters with his15 ace on fourth match point, to go with 35 winners. "It was a good match. I had break points, but not really because he fired an ace and winners. He is probably the best server in the world," Zverev said. Earlier, Fritz hit 10 aces and did not face a break point against Auger-Alliasime who managed 15 aces but also accumulated 23 unforced errors, while Fritz had just 12. Fritz clinched the first set thanks to a break in the 10th game when Auger-Alliasime hit a forehand wide on a hot afternoon. Fritz missed his second break point in the fourth game of the second set but prevailed in the tie-break on second match point when Auger-Alliasime hit a backhand wide. "I am so happy. It seemed it came down to a few points. I felt very lucky to get break in first set. I had more chances in the tiebreak was close but it is great to be in the final," Fritz said. Last year's US Open and ATP Finals runner-up Fritz bounced back well from a disappointing first-round exit at the recent French Open in his start into the grass court season, where he was won three of his eight career titles — all of them in Eastbourne. Speaking before the second semifinal, Fritz said he has no preference: "I don't care, it will be a very tough match either way." Stuttgart is among the tune-up events for Wimbledon which starts on June 30. — dpa
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Fritz beats Auger Alliasime to reach Stuttgart final
US tennis player Taylor Fritz in action against Canadian tennis player Felix Auger-Aliassime during their men's singles semi final match of the Stuttgart Open tennis tournament. Marijan Murat/dpa Second seed Taylor Fritz defeated Felix Auger-Alliasime 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) on Saturday to reach his first final of the year at the Stuttgart Open. American Fritz hit 10 aces and did not face a break point from his fourth seeded Canadian opponent who managed 15 aces but also accumulated 23 unforced errors, while Fritz had just 12. Advertisement Fritz clinched the first set thanks to a break in the 10th game when Auger-Alliasime hit a forehand wide on a hot afternoon. Fritz missed his second break point in the fourth game of the second set but prevailed in the tie-break on second match point when Auger-Alliasime hit a backhand wide. "I am so happy. It seemed it came down to a few points. I felt very lucky to get break in first set. I had more chances in the second. The tiebreak was close but it is great to be in the final," Fritz told broadcasters DF1. Last year's US Open and ATP Finals runner-up Fritz bounced back well from a disappointing first-round exit at the recent French Open in his start into the grass court season, where he was won three of his eight career titles - all of them in Eastbourne. Advertisement On Sunday, he will either face German top seed Alexander Zverev or fellow American third seed Ben Shelton, who contest the other semi-final. Fritz said he has no preference: "I don't care, it will be a very tough match either way." Stuttgart is among the tune-up events for Wimbledon which starts on June 30.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Zverev wins in Stuttgart after teenager Engel reaches first quarters
German tennis player Alexander Zverev in action against France's Corentin Moutet during their men's singles round of 16 tennis match of the Stuttgart Open tennis tournament. Marijan Murat/dpa Top-seed Alexander Zverev had a winning start into the Stuttgart Open on Thursday while 17-year-old fellow German Justin Engel reached a quarter-final of an ATP Tour event for the first time. Coming off a first-round bye, Zverev defeated Frenchman Corentin Moutet 6-2, 7-6 (9-7) under sunny skies in his first match since last week's French Open quarter-final exit against Novak Djokovic. Advertisement World number three Zverev was not glorious in his grass court season debut but eventually get the job done despite 34 unforced errors, and after having to save a set point in the tie-break. Engel won his second round match 6-4, 6-4 win against seventh seeded American Alex Michelsen. Playing in the first grass court event of his career on the ATP Tour, Engel became the youngest player to reach an ATP quarter-final on this surface since Boris Becker's first triumph at Wimbledon 40 years ago. "This is nice to hear," he said, adding that he "simply wants to play tennis and have fun on court." Advertisement Zverev squandered an early 2-0 lead against 91st-ranked but regrouped and took the opening set with four unanswered games, saving three break points in the sixth game. Zverev went break up at 4-3 in the second but eventually needed a tiebreak, where a 3-0 lead came and went. Moutet got set point at 6-5 thanks to a lucky ball off the netcord but Zverev saved it and clinched matters in straight sets when Moutet hit a forehand long, and broke his racquet in half in disgust after defeat in 1 hour 51 minutes. "It wasn't one of my best match. I won, that's the most important thing at the end of the day. You could see that he has had a few more days on grass," Zverev told broadcasters DF1. Advertisement Engel broke Michelsen in the third game of each set, did not face a break point, and won all 31 points on his first serve en route to victory in 1:17 hours which he sealed with a service winner. Wildcard entry Engel named his success "unbelievable" and admitted he had been "very nervous" before the match. Thursday's success over 35th ranked Michelsen was his first victory over a top 50 player, and he will rise in the rankings from a current 281st into the top 250. Engel is among several talented German 17-year-olds. Diego Dedura has also started playing on the ATP Tour, while Niels McDonald and Max Schönhaus contested the junior final at the French Open on Saturday, with McDonald taking the trophy.
