HAMBURG/STARNBERG, July 20, 2024
Alexander Zverev and Arthur Fils have reached the final of the 2024 Hamburg Open. The defending Rothenbaum champion defeated Pedro Martinez of Spain 6-2, 6-4 in the stage of the last four on a sunny and hot Saturday in Northern Germany.
Zverev was in cruise mode right from the beginning, very solid on his own serve. The World No. 4 struck 13 aces and won 89 per cent of his first-service points. Zverev saved the only break point he faced and capitalized on three of his own eight break-point chances to advance in one hour and 24 minutes.
Back-to-back Hamburg finals 👏
Alexander Zverev defeats Martinez 6-2 6-4 to reach his 35th tour-level final, 8th on home soil 🇩🇪#HamburgOpen pic.twitter.com/MfYd7A4ymD
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 20, 2024
Earlier on Center Court, Fils eased past No. 3 seed Sebastian Baez of Argentina 6-2, 6-2. The fifth favourite from France showed a dominant performance, broke his rival’s serve four times and won 60 per cent of the total points played to prevail after only 66 minutes.
Fils’ breakthrough moment 💫
The no.5 seed defeats Baez to reach his FIRST ATP 500 final, new career-high ranking on Monday secured#HamburgOpen pic.twitter.com/Q6x07ztPu7
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 20, 2024
“I played once or twice better than that, but of course it was great tennis on my part today,” said Fils after reaching his first ATP 500 final. “It was very hot, so it was very fast and my serve was working pretty well. That helped me a lot today and I don’t know if tomorrow it will be that hot, but I hope so.”
In his third final, Fils is seeking his second ATP Tour title following his triumph on home soil in Lyon last year. Zverev aims to be the first German to defend the Hamburg Open crown in the Open Era by winning his 23rd career trophy. The 27-year-old Hamburg native leads the head-to-head record over Fils 2-0. Zverev beat the Frenchman in last year’s Rothenbaum semi-final as well as in Halle this season.
“He is a very talented player, extremely aggressive,” Zverev said of Fils. “Still young and wild but has the potential to become one of the best players in the world. I am looking forward to the match.”
