Alexander Zverev found redemption as Germany thwarted Australia’s United Cup aspirations at Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney. Despite a loss in his singles match against Alex de Minaur, the sixth-ranked player in the world bounced back and partnered with Laura Siegemund to clinch a 2-1 win in the deciding match of the tie.
The final match on Sunday will be between Germany and Poland, following Zverev and Siegemund’s victory in the mixed doubles. After a long 28-point match tie-break, they narrowly defeated Matt Ebden and Storm Hunter, the top-ranked women’s doubles player, with a score of 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (2-7), 15-13.
The semi-final match was ultimately decided by the mixed doubles event, following a hard-fought women’s singles match between Angelique Kerber and Ajla Tomljanovic, with Kerber emerging victorious 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (9-7). Alex de Minaur then tied up the score by defeating Alexander Zverev in an impressive comeback, winning 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 against the 6th ranked player. This victory adds to de Minaur’s recent trend of defeating top players, and as a result, he will now be ranked in the Top 10 of the ATP rankings for the first time.
De Minaur expressed his satisfaction with defeating Zverev, stating that it is a significant achievement that he has put a lot of effort into. However, he acknowledges that there is still more work to be done and he will continue to strive for improvement. He also looks forward to the upcoming Australian summer with excitement.
After beating the 24-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic and also defeating powerful American Taylor Fritz, Zverev faced another tough opponent. The meticulous and sometimes fiery German managed to break serve late in the first set and took an early lead. De Minaur fought back in the second set, surviving an intense 11-minute battle to hold serve at 2-2 before breaking Zverev and tying the match.
After gaining more confidence, the Australian player immediately won a game against Zverev in the third set and ultimately won the match. De Minaur stated, “I narrowly escaped defeat in the second set and that shifted the momentum in my favor. I just tried to capitalize on that and keep it going.”
His calmness under pressure was in direct contrast to Tomljanovic, who had earlier slumped to a loss at the hands of a three-time grand slam champion, albeit one just returning to the game after from the birth of her first child. The Australian was in cruise control through the opening set but imploded in the second, eventually recovering to secure a tie-break in the third before losing out after wasting two match points. “It’s my first singles win since coming back and it’s a great feeling,” said the German.
Jordan Thompson, the 29-year-old Australian ranked number 43 in the world, lost a close semi-final match to Grigor Dimitrov at the Brisbane International. Despite having limited rest after his match against Rafael Nadal on Friday night, which lasted four hours and ended at midnight, Thompson put up a strong fight against the Bulgarian. Dimitrov’s impressive performance ultimately led him to his third Brisbane final.
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Dimitrov, ranked 14th in the world, will face off against Holger Rune in the final. The 20-year-old top seed is aiming for his fifth ATP title after a hard-fought win of his own. He emerged victorious with a score of 6-4, 7-6 (7-0) in a match against Roman Safiullin. Despite losing the first set, Rune managed to bounce back after being broken early in the second set by the skilled Russian. He even smashed his racket in frustration but was able to regroup and break back. Rune then saved break points once again before flawlessly winning the tie-break.
Rune stated that if he wants to achieve his goals in Melbourne, he will face a higher level of stress if he makes it to the Australian Open final on Sunday. He sees tomorrow as an opportunity to test his ability to handle the pressure.
Source: theguardian.com
