Melbourne [Australia], January 19 : Alexander Zverev extended his remarkable streak against left-handed opponents to 26 consecutive victories as he overcame Ugo Humbert 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to secure his place in the Australian Open quarterfinals. The World No. 2, who is still chasing his first Grand Slam title.
"I'm extremely happy to be in the quarter-finals after losing only one set, and my opponent played incredible [to win that set]," Zverev said, as quoted by ATP as saying.
"A week ago I was very unsure of my level. I couldn't play many points in practice or prepare the way I wanted," he added.
Zverev fired 43 winners, including 19 aces, and won 84 per cent of his first-serve points. His effective return game kept Humbert on the back foot, limiting the Frenchman to just 23 per cent success on second-serve points. The German has now won all six of his matches this season and boasts 14 victories in his past 15 outings, a streak dating back to his title triumph at the Paris Masters last November.
Having breezed through his opening three matches in straight sets against Lucas Pouille, Pedro Martinez, and Jacob Fearnley, Zverev is now set to face 12th seed Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals.
Paul delivered a commanding performance to eliminate Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who was physically drained after grueling back-to-back five-set comebacks in earlier rounds. The American needed just 87 minutes to dispatch Fokina 6-1, 6-1, 6-1, conceding only three games in a dominant display.
"I wanted to try and play longer points. He didn't really let that happen in the first set. He wanted quick sets," Paul said, as quoted from the official website of ATP.
"When you're playing one of those guys, it's always tough because you don't know at any point, he can turn it on and the match could be completely different. Those are the matches you really got to lock in the whole time," he added.
This marks Zverev's third appearance in a Grand Slam quarterfinal and his second at the Australian Open, with his previous best in Melbourne being a semifinal run in 2023.
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