Zverev saves 2 MPs to escape 'kryptonite' Medvedev in Paris
Alexander Zverev earned a memorable victory Friday when he saved two match points to oust rival Daniil Medvedev and keep his title defence hopes alive at the Rolex Paris Masters.
Zverev’s 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) victory ends his five-match skid against Medvedev and earns him a semi-final showdown against second seed Jannik Sinner, a rematch of last week’s Vienna final won by the Italian. Meanwhile, Medvedev’s chances of a Nitto ATP Finals bid are done.
“The thing I’m most pleased with is the match points saved, the way I continued being brave and in the important moments, winning the match myself,” Zverev said in his on-court interview.
[ATP AWARDS]From the start, a dialled-in Medvedev stuck to his trademark deep return position, which Zverev tried to counter early with serve-and-volleys or by using drop shots. Zverev, who fell in the eighth game and briefly held his left hamstring, switched his strategy to rely more on his firepower. He lifted the ante and began to test Medvedev from the baseline.
“I felt like in the beginning I was playing well, but I was playing very stupid tactically,” Zverev said. “I felt my shots, I felt like I could turn the match around because I was feeling really well with my shots, but again, I was playing very, very dumb. I changed a few things in my tactics and broke back. He helped me with a break break [at 1-0 in the second set].”
Facing two match points on serve at 4-5 in the decider, Zverev kept his cool, even when faced with a nervy sitting overhead that he put away. He would later miss a similar shot at 5/3 in the tie-break.
In the same game he twice saved match point, the 28-year-old won a crucial Deuce point with a 27-shot rally that ended with a net cord winner. Eventually sealing the win in a back-and-forth tie-break, Zverev laid on the court in relief after the two-hour, thirty-minute victory.
Pure power 💥@AlexZverev battles back from a set down v. Medvedev to set up a semi-final against Sinner 🍿@RolexPMasters | #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/b2yptYboPv
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 31, 2025
Zverev is now 8-14 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Medvedev and will next look to break his 4-4 tie with Sinner.
“Daniil is kind of my kryptonite, I don’t like playing him,” Zverev said with a laugh. “He’s somebody who has had my number for the last couple of years. I’m very pleased with the win for sure. Against Jannik, we had a fantastic match last Sunday. I’m happy to be on court with him again. Hopefully we share another great match.”
Zverev committed nine backhand unforced errors for the match, compared to Medvedev’s 23. But Medvedev held the advantage off the forehand side, crushing 19 winners to 12 unforced errors. Zverev hit 14 forehand winners and 21 unforced errors.
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