After having to endure difficulties in his second match at the 2024 Hamburg Open, Alexander Zverev had a much easier time in the quarter-final, beating Zhizhen Zhang in two sets.
The German player has good memories of Hamburg, and it's not only because he grew up in the city. It's his hometown, so he feels really good there most of the time, but he also won the event last year, which is why he came back with a smile this year.
The knee injury that he suffered at the Wimbledon Championships nearly cost him participation in his hometown, but after some treatments and prayers, Zverev was able to find himself on the courts.
The first match was really good and solid for him, but his next was very complicated. A huge umpiring mistake cost him a set in his match against Hugo Gaston, but he rallied in spectacular form to win the next two sets and advance to the quarter-final of the ATP 500 tournament.
The mistake was annoying for Zverev, but he took the high road after the match, admitting that umpires were allowed to make mistakes, as they were humans. However, according to the top seed, considering that some mistakes can be costly, the ATP should use the available technology to limit those mistakes.
He didn't need any technology in the quarter-final because the German beat Zhang fair and square. It was a fast-paced match, as both players played aggressively and did well on their serves most of the time.
Zhang generally plays that way, but we've seen Zverev be increasingly aggressive recently, which is great to see because one of the things many held against him in the past was the passive approach he took many times in his career.
None of that was on display in this match, as he was quite aggressive, both with the serve and in rallies. The opening set went 6-4 in favor of Zverev, who dominated on his serve, blasting eight aces in 10 games of play.
He also added four winners from live play to finish the opening set with 12 winners and only five unforced errors, which is a solid mark. The German dropped only one point behind his first serve and never faced a break point.
The Chinese player played on a fairly decent level as well, but he allowed his opponent chances, and he was able to convert them. The second set opened with an early break for the home player as well, and it was an ideal development for him.
The way he was serving wasn't going to give Zhang any chances, and after breaking early, he had the luxury of only thinking about his own serve and cruising to the finish line.
He did exactly that by cruising through his service games, powered by his amazing serve, and in the end, it was a simple win in two sets, 6-4, 6-3. The German finished the match with 10 aces and 22 winners overall. He also had only eight unforced errors.
He's proving to be in really great shape ahead of the Olympics in Paris next week, where he'll try and defend his gold medal from three years ago. He also played in the Roland Garros final in June.
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