A 16th ATP Tour meeting between Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas is all set for Friday in the Paris Masters quarter-final.
Tsitsipas has dominated their rivalry, but the German No. 3 seed's eyes possibly lit up late Thursday after favourite Carlos Alcaraz was upset by Ugo Humbert, leaving the 27-year-old as the highest-ranked seed left in Bercy.
Match preview
Having lost to Arthur Fils on home soil in Hamburg earlier this year, Zverev got his revenge over the Frenchman in the French capital on Thursday, claiming a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in a feisty encounter against the 20-year-old willed on by the partisan crowd.
That success took him to 63 victories in 2024 — only Jannik Sinner (65) has more this season — and the German star aims to capitalise on the ongoing momentum when he takes on his bogey opponent in Tsitsipas.
Only Daniil Medvedev (12) has more victories against the world No. 3 than Tsitsipas, a statistic Zverev hopes to improve starting Friday.
The last-eight match will mark the six-time Masters champion's sixth ATP 1000 quarter-final in 2024 and 31st overall, as he bids for another semis spot at Tsitsipas's expense.
Despite an underwhelming run in Shanghai, Zverev bids for a fourth last-four appearance by outdoing the motivated Greek player.
The 11-time ATP champion is an outsider for next November's Finals in Turin, but that outcome is only strengthened by progressing to the championship match in Paris.
He seeks an 11th victory over Zverev in the quarters, aiming to continue that outstanding dominance over the German player to extend his commendable consistency in the French capital after advancing to consecutive semi-finals in the previous years.
A semi-final spot against Holger Rune or Alex de Minaur is up for grabs, with the Greek player, Rune and De Minaur all in with a chance of qualifying for Turin — the Australian moved to eighth above Andrey Rublev in the Live Rankings after a three-set success against in-form Jack Draper.
Although he ranks 11th, the 26-year-old three-time Masters champion has dug deep to turn games around and executed commendably in the right moments to secure three-set wins in this tournament opener against Roberto Carballes Baena and Francisco Cerundolo.
Having already shown his battling qualities to make another last-eight match in Paris, Tsitsipas may need that aspect of his game against one of his favourite opponents.
Tournament so far
Alexander Zverev:
First round: Bye
Second round: vs. Tallon Griekspoor 7-6(2) 6-3
Third round: vs. Arthur Fils 6-4 3-6 6-3
Stefanos Tsitsipas:
First round: vs. Roberto Carballes Baena 4-6 6-3 6-3
Second round: vs. Alejandro Tabilo 6-3 6-4
Third round: vs. Francisco Cerundolo 6-7(1) 6-4 6-2
Head To Head
Monte-Carlo (2024) - Round of 16: Tsitsipas 7-6 7-6(3)
United Cup (2024) - Quarter-final : Zverev 6-4 6-4
Paris Masters (2023) - Round of 16: Tsitsipas 7-6(2) 6-4
Rome Masters (2022) - Semi-final: Tsitsipas 4-6 6-3 6-3
Madrid Masters (2022) - Semi-final: Zverev 6-4 3-6 6-2
Monte-Carlo (2022) - Semi-final: Tsitsipas 6-4 6-2
Cincinnati Masters (2021) - Semi-final: Zverev 6-4 3-6 7-6(4)
Roland Garros (2021) - Semi-final: Tsitsipas 6-3 6-3 4-6 4-6 6-3
Acapulco (2021) - Final: Zverev 6-4 7-6(3)
ATP Cup (2020) - Round Robin: Tsitsipas 6-1 6-4
ATP Finals (2019) - Round Robin: Tsitsipas 6-3 6-2
Beijing (2019) - Semi-final: Tsitsipas 7-6(6) 6-4
Madrid Masters (2019) - Quarter-final: Tsitsipas 7-5 3-6 6-2
Canada Masters (2018) - Quarter-final: Tsitsipas 3-6 7-6(11) 6-4
Washington (2018) - Semi-final: Zverev 6-2 6-4
Tsitsipas leads this rivalry 10-5, with Zverev's 33.3% win rate against the Greek player a joint-low among his most faced opponents — also 33.3% against Novak Djokovic and recently retired Dominic Thiem.
The 11-time tour-level champion notched five consecutive victories after the 22-time champion claimed their first encounter in the 2018 Washington semi-final.
The next nine tussles have been in the Greek player's favour (5-4), with the 27-year-old German keen to notch his fifth success in this stretch and sixth overall.
We say: Zverev to win in three sets
Alcaraz's loss to Humbert should be Zverev's gain. Though battling recent inconsistency, the German now sees a clear path to a second Masters 1000 title this season and will be determined to overcome Tsitsipas for the sixth time.
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