PARIS — Alexander Zverev saved two match points to defeat Daniil Medvedev 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) on Friday to retain his Paris Masters title.
Zverev ended a two-year, five-match losing streak against Medvedev.
The third-ranked Zverev will face the second-ranked Yannik Sinner in the semi-finals. They just met in the Vienna final last weekend, and Sinner won 7-5 in the third game. Their head-to-head record is 4-4.
In the deciding set, Zverev saved two match points on Medvedev’s serve, and the score was 4-5. Medvedev defeated Zverev in the 2020 Paris final and tied the score to 5-5 in the decider, but Zverev pulled away and won again 2.5 hours later.
“Daniel is my kryptonite, I don’t like playing against him,” Zverev said in an on-court interview. “He’s the one who has had my number for the past few years. I’m very happy with this win. We had a great game last Sunday against Jannik. I’m happy to be on the pitch with him again. Hopefully we can share another great game.”
Sinner eliminated seventh-ranked Ben Shelton 6-3, 6-3 and entered the Paris semifinals for the first time, taking a step closer to regaining the top spot.
Sinner’s seventh consecutive victory over the American also extended his indoor winning streak to 24 matches dating back to November 2023.
If Sinner wins the Paris title, it will be his first Masters trophy of the year and he will return to No. 1 on Monday.
Felix Auger-Aliassime ended wild card Valentin Vaccello’s impressive run in Paris with a 6-2, 6-2 quarterfinal win.
Vaccello had won 10 previous Masters matches, including his first title in Shanghai this month, but Auger-Aliassime proved too strong for the Monegasque player, who advanced to his fourth Masters semifinal.
“He’s so confident that you’re a little scared to be honest,” Auger-Aliassime said. “You’re not sure if he has that magic right now that other people don’t have. I had to be so focused from the beginning and that intensity… helped me ease into the game.”
Auger-Aliassime has reached ten tour semi-finals this season, second only to Carlos Alcaraz, and has won titles in Adelaide, Montpellier and Brussels.
The Canadian will face Alexander Bublik, who defeated sixth seed Alex de Minaur without conceding 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-5.
Bublik has won 30 of 37 matches and four titles since the French Open and is the first Kazakh to reach the semifinals of the Masters.
