Cincinnati [US], August 19 : Alexander Zverev cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Adrian Mannarino to set up a semifinal showdown with Novak Djokovic in the ongoing Cincinnati Masters.
Zverev extended his perfect ATP Head2Head record against Mannarino to 8-0 with a comfortable victory.
"I feel like the matches that we played, we had a lot of tough battles. I've always played him at tournaments when I've been playing well," ATP quoted Zverev as saying of his unblemished record against the Frenchman.
"I know I have a pretty big game and when I'm feeling well on the court, there's just a lot of things I can do. That was maybe the reason. If I would have played him at a tournament where I'm not feeling well, if I'm not playing well, he's beaten a lot of great players in his career. It's just more about the days that I've played him," he added.
Zverev advanced to his first Masters 1000 semifinal since suffering an ankle injury at Roland Garros last year after earning his first ATP Tour title since the 2021 ATP Finals this month in Hamburg.
"My tennis is coming along quite well. Obviously, it was very important for me after Toronto, where I had a really bad week, to come out here and compete and play some good tennis. I'm happy to be in the semi-finals here," he said of his recent form.
From the start, the German overpowered Mannarino, sprinting out to 3-0 leads in both sets and without facing a break point. His most nerve-racking service game occurred in the match's final game when he escaped 15/30 with three unreturned serves.
In the face of Zverev's aggressive game, Mannarino failed to generate a single winner in the first set, and while the Frenchman improved in set two, it was never enough to worry his 16th-seeded opponent.
The 26-year-old's quarter-final win lifted him two places into the all-important eighth spot in the ATP Live Race To Turin.
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