Nikoloz Basilashvili has extended his winning streak in Hamburg to 11 matches after edging out Alexander Zverev 6-4 4-6 7-6(5) to reach the final.
The defending champion edged out the second seed in just over three hours to continue the winning streak and reach the Hamburg final.
Another excruciating loss for Zverev, who came to his home tournament hoping to find some confidence before the US hard court swing.
In the final Basilashvili will play Andrey Rublev who came from a set and a break down to beat Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6 7-5 6-1.
Both players hit the ball cleanly to start the match as Zverev looked to use his big serve to dominate from the start of the match.
Although there were no breaks until the tenth game, the Georgian was threatening on return as he flattened out his forehand to good effect.
In the tenth game, the break came though as the German hit one of nine double faults in the match to give the set to the Georgian.
A frustrated Zverev headed to his chair knowing that he had a lot of work to do to turn the match around.
The momentum was carried into the second set from the fourth seed as he proved to be the more aggressive player and broke for a 3-1 lead.
"He's just crushing the ball."
💥💥
Nikoloz Basilashvili powers through the defense of Sascha Zverev at #HamburgOpen pic.twitter.com/7Vhq19B53K
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 27, 2019
It was now a case of stepping up for Zverev and hoping his opponent’s level would drop, which is exactly what happened in the second half of the set.
An immediate break back for the German helped him get back on track and some costly decision making helped the second seed break for a 5-4 lead.
Some nervy moments from the Georgian under pressure saw him lose momentum as the German sealed the second set with an ace.
This match though still had lots of crazy twists and turns as Basilashvili once again turned on the style and power as he battled his way into an early 3-0 lead.
But once again under pressure, the Georgian crumbled and back came Zverev with some solid hitting and good variety.
A run of five games in a row saw Zverev on the cusp of victory as he started to get the crowd involved with the contest.
After failing to convert two match points, the world number five let the defending champion back in the match as he was broken while serving for a place in the final.
It was only fitting that a crazy match like this was decided by a tiebreak and despite dominating for the most part, the German couldn’t close it out.
The last five points were won by the Georgian as he secured a thrilling win and secured his place in his second consecutive Hamburg final.
It was dissappointment for Zverev, who would have loved to make the final at his home tournament but he didn’t have the nerve to close the match out.
As for Basilashvili, it is now 11 wins in a row in Hamburg as he looks to win his second title in a row here with a win in tomorrow’s final over Andrey Rublev.
