Alexander Zverev soared into his fifth tour-level final of the season on Saturday at the Erste Bank Open, overcoming #NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 6-3 to end the 18-year-old’s strong run in Vienna.
The second seed, who earned both his 50th tour-level victory of the season and 300th tour-level career win this week, hit with great depth and soaked up Alcaraz’s power to advance after 68 minutes.
“I finally found my rhythm from the baseline because I was really struggling,” Zverev said. “I didn’t feel the ball well and I spent some time on the court after the match yesterday and warmed up for an hour and a half before the match today and I finally got it.”
The German now leads Alcaraz 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series and holds a 24-2 record since Wimbledon, capturing the Olympic singles gold medal and the Cincinnati title in this time.
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“I am happy with how things are going and hopefully I can get another win tomorrow,” Zverev added. “The Olympics was the key factor. The match against Novak [Djokovic] made me believe that I can win any tournament I can play.”
Zverev will face seventh seed Jannik Sinner or qualifier Frances Tiafoe in the championship match as he bids to win his fifth tour-level crown of the season, having also triumphed in Acapulco and Madrid.
Alcaraz captured the second biggest win of his career by FedEx ATP Ranking when he upset World No. 7 Matteo Berrettini in the quarter-finals. But he could not match Zverev, with the German firing eight aces and saving the one break point he faced to secure victory.
The second seed, who earned both his 50th tour-level victory of the season and 300th tour-level career win this week, hit with great depth and soaked up Alcaraz’s power to advance after 68 minutes.
“I finally found my rhythm from the baseline because I was really struggling,” Zverev said. “I didn’t feel the ball well and I spent some time on the court after the match yesterday and warmed up for an hour and a half before the match today and I finally got it.”
The German now leads Alcaraz 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series and holds a 24-2 record since Wimbledon, capturing the Olympic singles gold medal and the Cincinnati title in this time.
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“I am happy with how things are going and hopefully I can get another win tomorrow,” Zverev added. “The Olympics was the key factor. The match against Novak [Djokovic] made me believe that I can win any tournament I can play.”
Zverev will face seventh seed Jannik Sinner or qualifier Frances Tiafoe in the championship match as he bids to win his fifth tour-level crown of the season, having also triumphed in Acapulco and Madrid.
Alcaraz captured the second biggest win of his career by FedEx ATP Ranking when he upset World No. 7 Matteo Berrettini in the quarter-finals. But he could not match Zverev, with the German firing eight aces and saving the one break point he faced to secure victory.