(Tennis news) In the ATP 500 grass court competition, world No. 22 Alexander Zverev defeated Chile’s Nicolas Jarry in straight sets to keep up his dominant form. Building on victories over Denis Shapovalov and a friend of his, Dominic Thiem, Zverev defeated Jarry to keep his flawless record in Halle, not losing a set in three matches this week.
In the nearly two-hour match, the 26-year-old turned in another strong performance, making just 12 unforced mistakes. He did serve under the buzzer with a set and a 4-2 advantage. Before securing the victory, Zverev did, however, save all three break points. He is now 15-6 in Halle and 24-15 overall.
The 48th-ranked Alexander Bublik defeated Jannik Sinner in straight sets to go to the semifinals. Bublik won the first set 7-5 before the Italian, who was behind 2-0 in the second, gave up the match.
The 26-year-old Kazakh is now 11-19 for the year and has advanced to his second 2023 semifinal. In Marseille, where he had previously advanced to the final four, Hubert Hurkacz had defeated him. Bublik has had a fantastic week on the grass, going 3-0 in his Halle debut. His next goal is to make it to his first grasscourt final since Newport the previous year and third overall.
Head-to-Head
Only one of Alexander Zverev’s three encounters with Bublik ended in victory, but that victory occurred during their most recent match in this year’s Monte-Carlo opening round. It will be their first encounter on grass.
Prediction
Similar in their playing styles, Zverev and Bublik both want to dominate opponents from the baseline. They both have strong serves, forceful hitting from either flank and fluid movement.
Zverev, however, has the advantage due to his stronger background, consistency, and experience, particularly on grass, where he edges Bublik out by a small margin. The German has a surface record of 31-16 whereas Bublik has a record of 24-14. Both players are winless in grass-court finals, but Zverev has a better chance of breaking that streak given his recent play. The two-time runner-up in Halle could easily win again.
Alexander Zverev to win in 3 sets.
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