Zverev beats Wawrinka to set up Nadal semifinal in Paris Masters

 

Alexander Zverev battled past Stan Wawrinka in straight sets in the Paris Masters quarterfinals on Friday to set up a last four showdown against Rafael Nadal.

The 23-year-old German, who is seeking a third straight title after back-to-back victories on home soil in Cologne, edged out Wawrinka 6-3, 7-6 (7/1).

Wawrinka looked to be building momentum in the second set, but his level dropped when he served to force a decider in the 10th game and Zverev broke before easing through a one-sided tie-break.

“From my side, I thought it was a pretty good match,” said Zverev.

“Definitely happy to be in the semis and it’ll be an interesting one tomorrow (Saturday against Nadal)… A lot of people are looking forward to that and I am too.”

Fourth seed Zverev has won 11 consecutive matches since losing in the French Open last 16 to Italian youngster Jannik Sinner.

He has a 5-1 losing record against Nadal, but won their last meeting at last year’s ATP Tour Finals, which was also played on an indoor hard court.