French Open: Concentrated Alexander Zverev after defeating Fognini in the quarter-finals
Alexander Zverev reached the quarter-finals in Roland Garros with a playful and mentally strong performance. Zverev defeated the Italian Fabio Fognini with 3: 6, 6: 2, 6: 2, 7: 6 (5).
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Jun 03, 2019, 06:33 pm
Zverev came to a 0:40 at the beginning of the serve of the Italian, who, however, saved himself and benefited from a weak service game by Zverev. And then hit the bullet hard! The 0: 3 equalized Zverev - only to give up his serve to 3: 5 again with two double errors. Fognini served to win the set.
Both players initially struggled a lot, Zverev cursed myself, Fognini complained about Zverev's support team - and then abused his own box.
Fognini struggles, Zverev gets the match under control
In set two, Zverev held his serve 3-2 in a game that went eight times over. Fognini then went to work a little overly motivated, Zverev breached, confirmed and took off Fognini's surcharge again.
Fognini now noticed that Zverev was growing, was still on the line and acted more aggressively - and tried to get Zverev involved in a verbal battle. He also continued to mock the volume of Zverev's box. The frustration that Zverev went 4: 1 in set three, Fognini finally left out on his racket and received a warning. The Italian then had the physio come and treat himself on the right leg. Zverev was not impressed by everything: He freed himself from a tight game with good serves, made it 5-2 and broke again to 6-2.
In set four, despite two contested games at the beginning, everything stayed in order. At 4: 4, Fognini came to his first breakball of the set, which Zverev fought back with a brave backhand along the line. With two strong serves and fueled by "Come oooooon!" Calls, the fifth in the world rankings managed the 5: 4. It was also exciting for the 6: 5: Zverev allowed Fognini with his 12th (!) Double mistake to make another breakball, but held it and managed to win the game thanks to his 14th ace. Fognini, however, remained cool and smoothly balanced again.
In the tie-break it was Fognini, whose double mistake brought the preliminary decision to 4-2 for Zverev. The Hamburg player used his first match ball to win.
# BETATHOMEFO #
"It was a very good match for me from the middle of the second set, a high level," Zverev told Eurosport afterwards. "I played very aggressively, played good backhands longline at the important moments, the breakballs against me and hit the serve."
Zverev now against Djokovic for the semi-finals
In the quarterfinals, Zverev will now meet the world number one Novak Djokovic, who has never had to give up more than eight games in his four previous matches at the French Open 2019. The Djoker also played flawlessly against the last 16 opponents Jan-Lennard Struff .
In direct comparison with Djokovic it is 2: 2. Zverev won the only match of the two on sand in Rome in 2017, and the last duel, in the finals of the ATP Finals in London, went to Zverev.
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