It has been a long road, but Alexander Zverev has that final feeling once again on the ATP Tour.
The fourth seed powered past Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the championship match at the Hamburg European Open. Taking on a 19-year-old opponent who was full of confidence after taking out top seed Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals, Zverev offered Fils few chances to settle in the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with a hard-hitting, big-serving display on the German clay.
“I knew that me and Casper have very different gamestyles,” said Zverev, when asked how he had approached the match. “Casper plays with a lot more spin and a lot higher, something that Arthur maybe likes. I knew that I had to take the time away, I knew that I had to play a lot quicker and a lot flatter in a way. I did that well today, I feel like.”
Zverev will take on Laslo Djere in Sunday’s final as he looks to claim the title at his hometown ATP 500 event for the first time. It will be a first tour-level championship match since Madrid in May 2022 for the 19-time tour-level titlist, and his first since he suffered a serious ankle injury at 2022 Roland Garros.
“It’s always the nicest at home, but at the end of the day it’s a very difficult match and I’m just looking forward to it,” added Zverev.
Super Sascha! ⚡️
Incredible point from home hope @AlexZverev on his way to securing the first set 6-2 against Fils!@hamburgopen | #HamburgOpen pic.twitter.com/GlaLtlVSCy
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 29, 2023
The 26-year-old Zverev is chasing his first title since his triumph at the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals, and he is up two spots to 10th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin as a result of his Hamburg run as he looks to qualify for the prestigious season finale for the sixth time. In Hamburg, he is bidding to become just the second German man, after Michael Stich in 1993, to lift the trophy since the Open Era began in 1968.
Zverev raced to a 4-0 lead against Fils as his #NextGenATP opponent struggled for consistency from the baseline early, and rarely looked like letting that early advantage slip en route to a one-hour, 32-minute triumph. He was clutch in key moments throughout, converting three of four break points he earned as well as saving the three he faced against his own delivery.
Zverev is now 32-18 for the 2023 season, having also reached semi-finals in Dubai, Geneva, at Roland Garros, and in Halle. He rose two spots to No. 17 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings as a result of his semi-final victory against Fils.
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The World No. 57 Djere earlier delivered a near-flawless semi-final display to ease past Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 6-2 and reach his first tour-level final of the season.
Serbia’s Djere sealed the only break of the opening set in this eighth game before accelerating away in the second for a comfortable one-hour victory. The 28-year-old did not face a break point against Zhang as he charged into his first ATP Tour final since Winston-Salem in August 2022.
“I’m extremely happy the way I played. Everything went my way today,” said Djere. “I think this was my best match this year, at least on the clay. I didn’t give much chance to him today, luckily for me. He’s a great player, he has a huge serve. I also surprised myself a bit today, how I played.”
Sunday’s championship match clash will be Djere’s fifth on the ATP Tour, and his second at ATP 500 level after he claimed his maiden tour-level title in Rio de Janeiro in 2019.
“I will try to look at the final as any other match,” said Djere, whose only other ATP Tour title also came on clay in Sardinia in 2020. “I think that is key, not to make a big deal out of it. Obviously, there is a lot at stake, and the nerves might kick in at some point, but I think the key will be to stay calm and focused and relax like in [my previous] matches. Hopefully I will be able to manage it.”
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