(Halle) Canadian Denis Shapovalov received a tennis lesson from Alexander Zverev on Wednesday as the German prevailed 6-2, 6-4 in their second-round duel at the grass-court tournament in Hall.
Zverev, seeded ninth, needed just 75 minutes to defeat his rival.
Shapovalov put his first ball in play only 56% of the time and had 11 winners against nine unforced errors.
For his part, Zverev hammered 15 winners and committed only five unforced errors. He broke Shapovalov’s serve three times and did not give his opponent a break point.
Shapovalov is just 10-12 this season. He occupies the 27e world rank.
In the quarter-finals, Zverev will face Chilean Nicolas Jarry, who caused the upset of the day by beating second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(7), 7-5.
Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev continues to find his bearings after recent setbacks, as he reached the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3 win over Laslo Djere.
PHOTO FRISO GENTSCH, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Daniel Medvedev
Medvedev could have made life easier, as he was up 4-1 in the second set tiebreaker. Djere won the next four points, however, to put himself in a good position to extend the game.
Medvedev found his way back to winning ways this week, after first-round defeats at the French Open and then at the Open Libema, the season’s first grass-court tournament.
The third-ranked Russian in the world is preparing for his return to Wimbledon next month. He will take part in the tournament for the first time since 2021, as Russian and Belarusian players were banned last year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In the next round in Halle, Medvedev will face Roberto Bautista Agut. The eighth-seeded Spaniard defeated American Brandon Nakashima 7-5, 7-6 (2).
Home favorite Jan-Lennard Struff defeated Russian Roman Safiullin 6-2, 7-6 (4) in a first round match.