Alexander Zverev gets better of Daniil Medvedev to progress in Cincinnati Open, Stefanos Tsitsipas crashes out

Alexander Zverev finally got the better of his nemesis Daniil Medvedev as he advanced to the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open.

Medvedev had won all three meetings with the German this calendar year, but Zverev upped his game against his Russian opponent, winning 6-4 5-7 6-4 after two hours and 32 minutes.

In total, Zverev struck 36 winners in comparison to the 13 registered by Medvedev as the 16th seed mastered the difficult, windy conditions better than the world No. 3.

Zverev saved the two break points he faced at 4-4 before breaking Medvedev’s serve in the next game and seeing out the victory.

It’s a disappointing loss for the Russian, who had chances at the business end of the third set and will feel he could have done more to win the match.

Zverev’s delight was evident at the conclusion of a hard-fought win, and asked what pleased him most about his performance, he said: “Just the patience that I had, probably.

“Very difficult conditions but also a very difficult opponent. I think he’s somebody that gives you absolutely nothing, you have to win the match yourself and that’s what I did today. I’m pleased with that.”

Asked how he managed with the conditions so well, Zverev said: “Just trying to be patient, focus on yourself in a way. I mean, you have to kind of take your chances, take your opportunities – you’re not going to get many because we’re both serving quite well.

“But at the end of the day, I lost three very tight matches this year and I’m happy to have finally won one today.”

Zverev has extended his winning streak in Cincinnati to eight matches, after taking the title at the hard-court tournament in his previous appearance in 2021.

“I think it was important especially after last week when in Toronto I probably had a very bad week,” said Zverev who lost in the second round to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the Canadian Open.

“I probably had one of the worst weeks since I’m kind of pain-free. So I need to come out, I need to show myself that I can play well and that I can compete again. And yeah, I’m doing that and I’m happy with that.”

He will now play the winner of Mackenzie McDonald and Adrian Mannarino on Friday for a place in the last-four.

Meanwhile, Stefanos Tsitsipas crashed out following a comprehensive straight sets defeat to Hubert Hurkacz after just an hour and four minutes.

Hurkacz’s reward for becoming the first Polish man to reach the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open is a match against Australia’s Alexei Popyrin.