Zverev Maintains Strong Montpellier Record
Alexander Zverev continued his strong record at the Open Sud de France on Friday, cruising past Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-1, 6-0 to reach the semi-finals in Montpellier.
The German is aiming to capture his second title in Montpellier, after triumphing in his last appearance at the ATP 250 event in 2017. Zverev, who is now 9-1 at the tournament, hit eight aces and saved all four break points he faced against Mannarino to advance after 51 minutes as he extended his perfect ATP Head2Head record over the 33-year-old to 7-0.
On his win, Zverev said: “Sometimes that is how matches go. At the end I felt a little sorry for Adrian because we have had so many tough matches together and he is in great form at the moment. He reached the fourth round at the Australian Open. I came here to find my form and I am looking forward to the next two days.”
The top seed earned victories over Cameron Norrie and Taylor Fritz at ATP Cup at the start of January, but suffered a disappointing fourth-round exit at the Australian Open (l. to Shapovalov). The 19-time tour-level titlist will look to continue the momentum he has regained in Montpellier against Swede Mikael Ymer in the last four.
[FOLLOW ACTION]Ymer held his nerve to defeat Frenchman Richard Gasquet 7-5, 6-7(6), 6-1 to reach his second tour-level semi-final. The World No. 83 recovered from squandering one match point in the second set at 6-5 40/30 on Gasquet’s serve, raising his intensity in the third set to triumph after two hours and 35 minutes.
The 23-year-old is making his third appearance in Montpellier. Ymer, who had never advanced past the second round in Montpellier before his run this week, now leads Gasquet 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series.
“I am very happy to be through,” Ymer said. “It was a tough match, so I am very happy to fight through and I am excited to be in another semi-final.”
Gasquet is a three-time champion at the ATP 250 event and was seeking his 29th match win at the ATP 250 event.