Zverev, Humbert contest Paris Masters crown

PARIS, France (AFP) — Germany’s Alexander Zverev outserved Holger Rune in the semi-finals of the Paris Masters on Saturday to book his place in the final, where he will take on France’s Ugo Humbert.

Zverev’s 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) win against the Dane sent the 27-year-old to his second ATP 1000-level final of the season after his victory in Rome in May.

World number 18 Humbert, who downed world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the last 16, overcame Russian Karen Khachanov 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 6-3 after the 2018 Paris champion suffered a thigh injury in the final set.

“I feel like I made it a little difficult for myself but he (Rune) is a champion,” Zverev said.

“It is probably his favorite tournament and favorite court, but I am happy to be in my second final here.”

Zverev previously made the Paris final in 2020 but lost in three sets to Daniil Medvedev.

For 2022 champion Rune, the loss put an end to his outside hopes of reaching the ATP Finals in Turin, which run from 10 to 17 November.

Zverev, standing at 198cm, relied on his big first serve and the speed of the surface at Paris’ Bercy Arena to carry him through his service games.

Rune, on the other hand, misfired regularly on his first serve and lacked fluency with his groundstrokes as he gave the German a 3-1 lead in the first set.

The 21-year-old then raced to 15-40 in the next game but was again let down by his backhand as he sent two shots long and an attempted pass wide as Zverev recovered to consolidate.

Despite leading 4-1, the 2024 French Open runner-up was also unconvincing from behind the baseline as the unforced errors accumulated for both players.