Zverev Comfortably Moves Into Miami SF
If the beginning of Alexander Zverev's stay at the Miami Open presented by Itau was a bit messy, his past two matches have been as tidy as can be.
The fourth-seeded German advanced to his third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final on Thursday, beating Borna Coric of Croatia 6-4, 6-4 in 84 minutes. “You have to win every single point against him yourself. That's what I did tonight, and I'm very happy with it,” he said.
Zverev, a two-time Masters 1000 titlist (Rome 2017, Montreal 2017) will face Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta for a chance to play for his third title at the prestigious level. It will be their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting after Carreno Busta outlasted Kevin Anderson 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(6) earlier Thursday.
“Very difficult match. I think he's playing very well right now. He played well in Indian Wells, playing well here. It doesn't get any easier. But it's a Masters [1000]. We know that it's not going to get easier, and I'm looking forward to it,” Zverev said.
The Spaniard had never beaten Anderson in their four prior meetings, and Zverev faced similar odds against Coric in front of a full Stadium Court. The Croatian had beaten Zverev in their two prior FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings, including during the second round of the 2017 US Open.
But the 20-year-old German brought the same level of focus he had against Nick Kyrgios earlier in the week. He was relentless, pressuring Coric's serve and comfortably holding. Zverev converted two of his eight break opportunities against Coric and erased both break points faced.
Zverev broke to love in the seventh game and served out the first set to 30. In the second, Coric erased his first five break points faced, but Zverev broke through exactly when he needed to – in the ninth game when Coric lifted a backhand long – to lead 5-4. Another hold pushed him into the semi-final.
During his first two matches in Miami, Zverev needed three sets to advance, against Russian Daniil Medvedev and David Ferrer of Spain. But the 20-year-old is looking comfortable on Key Biscayne and eager for a chance to compete for his third Masters 1000 crown.
