ATP Cologne: Zverev wants "double from the cathedral" - in the final against Schwartzman
Revenge successful - the "double from the cathedral" beckons: Alexander Zverev has continued his winning streak in Cologne and is playing for his second success within two weeks in the cathedral city this Sunday (7.30pm / Eurosport).
by SID
last edit: Oct 25, 2020, 07:45 am
The world number seven from Hamburg won on Saturday evening in the semifinals against the Italian Jannik Sinner 7: 6 (7: 3), 6: 3 and thus returned the favor for the defeat in the last sixteen of the French Open three weeks ago.
The hip injury that Zverev had affected in the quarter-finals against French Adrian Mannarino on Friday evening was no longer felt on Saturday. Zverev moved as usual in front of his father Alexander senior. "I did an MRI this morning," said Zverev after the win, saying that he absolutely wanted this match. "Of course I had the defeat in my head, I said to myself, 'not again, I won't lose that thing today'."
Schwartzman prevents second Cologne final for "FAA"
In the final in the Lanxess Arena, Zverev (23), number one on the seeding list, will meet Diego Schwartzman, who is second. The Argentine eliminated Felix Auger-Aliassime (No. 5) 6: 4, 5: 7, 6: 4. Against the 20-year-old Canadian, Zverev won the first title in Cologne last Sunday. It was the twelfth tournament victory for the US Open finalist on the ATP tour and the third in Germany.
Against Sinner, Zverev came into the match slowly and was 1: 4 behind after a service loss. "I tested my hips a bit," said Zverev, "and he played really well." But Zverev once again proved his change, had himself under control, kept concentration and gave Sinner a gripping fight with numerous breaks in the first sentence.
Also "KraMies" in the final
Zverev had the better end in the tiebreak after 59 minutes. The resistance of the highly talented South Tyrolean, who had appeared in his quarter-finals, seemed broken. Zverev's break to 2-0 was the preliminary decision, he brought the lead after 1:48 hours with the first match point to the finish.
A double triumph beckons for German tennis on Sunday. Because the double final will also take place with German participation. The two-time French Open winners Kevin Krawietz / Andreas Mies (Coburg / Cologne) prevailed in the semifinals against Marcus Daniell / Philipp Oswald (New Zealand / Austria) 6: 4 and 6: 3. The last hurdle before the fifth tournament victory of "KraMies" is Raven Klaasen / Ben McLachlan (South Africa / Japan) from 4.30pm.