Next Gen player Alexander Zverev fought back from one set down to edge past his compatriot Jan-Lennard Struff 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-3) securing his spot in the semifinal at the BMW Open in Munich. Zverev has equalled his result from last year at this tournament.
Struff got an early break in his first service game and held his next service games to clinch the opening set by 6-3. The second set went on serve and was decided by the tie-break, where Zverev prevailed by 7-3 forcing the match to the decisive set.
In the third set Struff fought back from 2-5 in the decisive tie-break by winning three consecutive points, but Zverev won the final two points to clinch a hard-fought win after 2 hours and 13 minutes.
Zverev set up a semifinal against Roberto Bautista Agut, who beat Yannick Haufmann 6-3 6-3 after 68 minutes.
“I am looking forward to playing against Zverev again. He has a strong serve and a good forehand, so it’s going to be a tough match”, said Bautista Agut.
Guido Pella from Argentina battled past his fellow countryman Horacio Zeballos 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-3). Zeballos fought back from 2-5 in the second set and fended off two match points on his serve at 4-5 to push the match to the third set. The third set went on serve until the tie-break. Pella got a mini-break to open up a 3-0 lead and converted his first match point after two hours and 38 minutes.
Pella will face the winner of the match between Hyeon Chung and Martin Klizan. Ching was leading 6-4 3-6 3-2 when the match was suspended due to darkness. It will be resumed on Saturday morning.
