Zverev misses out on final in Beijing
Beijing – As he congratulated his long-time rival at the net on his victory, tennis Olympic champion Alexander Zverev even managed to smile. In a highly competitive semi-final in Beijing, the 26-year-old lost 4-6, 3-6 to Daniil Medvedev.[expander_maker id=”1″ ]
The Russian world number three proved too strong for Zverev in the decisive moments. This means that Zverev missed out on his third final of the season. His winning streak in China, which included seven consecutive wins, came to an end.
Zverev loses serve and set
After a very short break, Zverev, who has been somewhat physically affected recently, will continue at the Shanghai Masters 1000 tournament. The German number one will face either Russian Roman Safiullin or British Andy Murray in the second round, following a first-round bye. Zverev secured his 21st ATP title last week in Chengdu by winning the final against Safiullin.
Hamburg native Zverev’s main goal for the final stretch of this tennis year is to qualify for the ATP Finals, which will take place from November 12th to 19th in Turin. The points collected in China are an important step towards achieving this.
Zverev had previously won his last encounter with Medvedev, but had only won two out of the last ten matches against the Russian, who is a year older. In the battle for a place in the final in Beijing, the world number ten seemed to run out of steam during the longer rallies compared to his opponent. Nevertheless, Zverev had the first two break points of the match at 3-3, but was unable to take advantage. Instead, the North German had to give up his serve shortly afterwards. This meant losing the set at 4-5.
Medvedev almost error-free
Zverev was not in the best shape during his time in Beijing and mentioned feeling slightly ill. “I’m a bit unwell, it’s very demanding on the body overall,” he said after his quarter-final victory over Chilean Nicolas Jarry.
In the fiercely contested match against Medvedev, Zverev had no chance in the second set either. Medvedev played almost error-free and saved both of Zverev’s break points. In contrast, the Hamburg native lost his serve to make it 3-5. After 85 minutes, Zverev approached the net for a handshake.[/expander_maker]