COLOGNE, October 24, 2020
Alexander Zverev defeats reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Jannick Sinner 7-6(3), 6-3 in Saturday’s semi-finals of the bett1HULKS Championship to move one step closer to his second Cologne title in as many weeks.
The top seed from Germany, who lost to the Italian teenager at Roland Garros last month, sent down seven aces and won 79 per cent of his first-service points to reach back-to-back finals at the Lanxess Arena after one hour and 48 minutes.
💥HIGHLIGHTS💥
1⃣st SEMI-FINAL
🇩🇪 @AlexZverev
🇮🇹 @janniksin #bett1hulkschampionship | @bett1de | @atptour pic.twitter.com/E2FKDUfHv0— bett1_HULKS (@bett1hulks) October 24, 2020
“I was playing a player I just lost to at Roland Garros. That was still in the back of my head. I was not going to lose today,” Zverev told Markus Zoecke in his on-court interview. “He is an up and coming superstar. I think he is going to be Top 10 very shortly. I think he is going to be competing for the biggest tournaments in the world.”
Schwartzman outlasts Auger-Aliassime
Later in the evening, No. 2 seed Diego Schwartzman booked his spot in the final thanks to 6-4, 5-7 ,6-4 win over Canadian young gun Felix Auger-Aliassime. The No. 2 seed from Argentina capitalized on four of his five break point chances to prevail after two hours and 31 minutes.
“It was really tough. He is a great player. He played so aggressive and hit a lot of winners. I was lucky in the end,” Schwartzman said and added about his upcoming opponent: “He is the undefeated man so far. He is a great player and loves to play in Germany. It will be tough. I have to rest and I am looking forward to tomorrow.”
Zverev and Schwartzman will meet for the fourth time with the Argentine leading 2-1 in their head-to-head records.
