Alexander Zverev, ranked No. 4 in the world, was hoping for shorter matches on grass in Halle, Germany. However, he had to battle back against 20-year-old Arthur Fils to secure a spot in the semifinals of the Halle Open. The match lasted 2 1/2 hours before Zverev emerged victorious with a score of 6-7 (5), 6-3, and 6-4.
Despite his hope for quicker matches on grass after some lengthy battles at the French Open, Zverev has been playing as he always does. He still wants to avoid playing two-and-a-half to three hours every match. After a grueling five-set match against Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open, Zverev said he wanted to avoid playing such long matches again.
Zverev, the second seed, had a tough first round against qualifier Oscar Otte, needing three sets to advance. He then defeated Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets before facing Hubert Hurkacz in the next round. Hurkacz defeated Marcos Giron 7-6 (5), 6-4 in his quarterfinal match.
In other quarterfinal matches, No. 1 Jannik Sinner faced Jan-Lennard Struff while Zhang Zhizhen played Christopher Eubanks later on Friday in the Halle Open.
