ATP: Nerve-strong Zverev reaches Basel semi-finals

Germany’s best tennis professional Alexander Zverev has reached the semi-finals at the ATP tournament in Basel. The number two on the seed list won against Roberto Bautista Agut (No. 8) from Spain 7-5, 6-3 in the quarter finals on Friday.

In the semi-finals, the fifth-placed player of the world rankings will face Romanian qualifier Marius Copil on Saturday.

In a balanced first set, which lasted an hour, Zverev took the decisive break to 6-5. The 21-year-old had earned many more break chances, but made far too little use of his opportunities.

From the baseline, however, Zverev exerted enough pressure to upset his opponent and forced Bautista Agut, known for his solid playing, to make mistakes. Especially Zverev’s backhands worked perfectly and brought him some free points.

A similar picture should take place in sentence two: Bautista Agut initially took a 3-0 lead. But Zverev fought his way back again, didn’t give up another game and used his first match point after 1:44 hours.

The 21-year-old’s nerves were crucial on this quarter-final day. Towards the end of the game, Zverev showed what he was capable of defensively and struck world-class passing shots from all sides. Bautista Agut was clearly overtaxed in the final phase and could not keep up with the high speed of the Hamburg player.