Medvedev beats Zverev to reach Halle final

MUNICH: Russian Daniil Medvedev dispatched home favourite Alexander Zverev in three sets to reach the finals of the ATP tournament in Halle on Saturday.

The world number 11 came through 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (3/7), 6-4 after an exceptional baseline battle lasing just under three hours. On Sunday, Medvedev will play in his first final on the tour since March 2024, against either fellow Russian Karen Khachanov or Kazakhstan´s Alexander Bublik.

It was the 20th clash between two players of the same generation with Medvedev, 29, now leading 28-year-old Zverev 13-7. A finalist in Stuttgart last week Zverev had been hoping to go one better on the grass of Halle after being a losing finalist at the tournament in 2016 and 2017.

But former world number one Medvedev once against proved a tough opponent for the second seed, having won 12 of their last 14 duels, the last in the semi-finals of the Australian Open at the end of January 2024.

The 2021 US Open winner and two-time Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2023 and 2024, Medvedev squandered a break lead 2-0 and three early match points on Zverev´s serve (6-5) in the second set, and was pushed into a decisive third set.

But he wrapped up the match just under an hour later on his fifth opportunity with a forehand winner sending him through to his second final in Halle where he finished runner-up in 2022. For his 21st tour title, his first since his triumph on the clay courts of Rome in May 2023, Medvedev will challenge either 22nd-ranked Khachanov, or 2023 Halle winner Bublik, ranked 45, who claimed the scalp of world number one Jannik Sinner in the second round.