NEW DELHI: Alexander Zverev secured a spot in the Australian Open quarter-finals on Sunday, overcoming a mid-match wobble to defeat France’s Ugo Humbert.
The second seed Zverev, focused on winning his first Grand Slam title, next faces American 12th seed Tommy Paul, who easily defeated Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets.
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Zverev started and finished strongly on John Cain Arena, beating the 14th seed 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 despite a brief lapse in concentration.
“He’s an incredible top player and has improved tremendously and I’m happy to be in the quarter-finals,” said Zverev, a two-time Grand Slam finalist.
“Extremely happy to be in the quarters only losing one set. I definitely want to play three more matches here.”
The 27-year-old has been in impressive form, continuing his stellar 2024 season that propelled him to a career-high ranking of world No. 2.
This is his second consecutive quarter-final appearance for Zverev in Melbourne, having reached the semi-finals last year before losing to Daniil Medvedev.
Despite reaching Grand Slam quarter-finals 14 times, Zverev has never been able to win a title after a decade of trying. If he succeeds, he would be the first German man to win a Slam since Boris Becker in Melbourne in 1996.
Zverev remained calm and composed against Humbert, who has yet to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final in 25 attempts, even after losing the second set. He refocused and reasserted control, winning 100 percent of his first serve points in the third set and never looked back.
Paul is expected to be a tougher opponent for Zverev. The Australian Open has been Paul’s most successful Grand Slam throughout his career, with a 15-5 win-loss record in his six tournaments.
Paul’s best Slam result came in Melbourne when he reached the semi-finals in 2023, becoming the first American man to do so since Andy Roddick in 2009. He defeated Davidovich Fokina along the way that year before being eliminated by Novak Djokovic.
“I’m always happy to be back in Australia and to be in the quarter-finals again. It’s amazing,” said Paul after the 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 demolition job.
“This court is where I came through to my first quarter-final ever, and now my second one here in Australia on this court.
“So great memories on this court,” added the 27-year-old, who dominated on serve against the Spaniard while crunching 25 winners.
