Lorenzo Sonego’s fall in two sets, Alexander Zverev qualified for the semi-finals of the Dubai ATP tournament. A stage he had not reached since his injury at Roland-Garros.
Alexander Zverev confirms that he is on the right path. Returning to the ATP circuit at the start of the season after long months of absence, the German will play his first semi-final this Friday since that played against Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros last season. For this, the 16th player in the world disposed of Lorenzo Sonego in two rounds.
From the first exchanges, the two players were not very comfortable on their face-off. However, after seeing the Italian save a break point in the first game, the German was able to dismiss three in stride. From there, the debates were balanced until the approach of a potential decisive game. This time, Alexander Zverev was able to find the solution to take the service of Lorenzo Sonego, even if it happened on the third break point. On his own face-off, the seeded number 7 of the tournament sealed the fate of this first hung round.
Zverev is back and bringing the energy⚡️
He’s headed to his first semi-final since June 2022 💪@ddftennis | #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/4GTsmho3nv
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 2, 2023
A.Zverev seized his chance
The second set, for its part, started with two more solid players on their respective face-offs. Indeed, neither Alexander Zverev nor Lorenzo Sonego were in trouble during their first two servings. It was from there that things got tough for the 67th player in the world. On the very first break point of the set, the German made his opponent give in to then confirm the ascendancy taken and lead four games to two. From then on, the exchanges were again balanced until the moment of serving to win the match as far as Alexander Zverev was concerned.
Visibly tense, the German dropped the first three points and gave Lorenzo Sonego three unexpected chances to restart the game. However, the 16th player in the world was able to regain serenity, dismissing these break points one by one. In the aftermath, the first match point proved to be the right one (7-5, 6-4 in 1h53 ‘). A success that opens the doors to the last four, nine months later, with Botic van de Zandschulp or Andrey Rublev who will be on his way.
