Alexander Zverev will face Carlos Alcaraz in the Cincinnati Masters semi-final. The 2021 champion played at a high level against the Canada Masters champion Ben Shelton in the quarter-final and notched a dominant 6-2, 6-2 victory in an hour and 17 minutes.
However, world no. 3 scared his fans when he asked a medical timeout early in the second set! The German started to feel dizzy at the end of the first set, with the breathing issues and his head spinning.
However, he continued without issues and brought the victory home in no time. Zverev did not understand what happened, saying he felt the best in months before the setback surfaced.
The German will do his best to recover by Saturday evening and challenge Carlos Alcaraz in a battle for a place in the final. Alexander bested Ben for the fourth time in as many encounters and reached his 22nd Masters 1000 semi-final.
Zverev faced issues, but Shelton looked like someone who had more serious problems! The American played miles below his best, spraying too many errors and ending his winning streak after nine matches.
Alexander saved the only break point he faced and kept the pressure on the other side. He grabbed 48% of the return points and converted four of 11 break points to control the scoreboard and sail through.
The German tamed his strokes nicely and welcomed 27 unforced errors from the other side. Ben wasted a 40-0 lead in the third game of the match and missed a volley to drop serve and fall 3-1 behind.
The American faced five break points in the fifth game. He sprayed a double fault on the last to suffer another break and fall 4-1 behind. Zverev served for the opener at 5-2 and faced the only break point.
He saved it with an unreturned serve and landed an ace on a set point for 6-2 in 40 minutes. World no. 3 clinched another break in the third game of the second set when his rival netted a forehand.
Alexander received a medical timeout during the break but continued without issues. He held with a service winner in game four and provided another break at 3-1 after Shelton's backhand error.
The German moved 5-1 up with an unreturned serve and had a chance to close the match at 5-2. Former champion held at 15 after forcing Ben's mistake, moving over the top and setting the clash against Carlos Alcaraz,
"I'm not feeling too great right now. I have a day to get fresh and hopefully feel 100% again. We will see. I'm not sure what happened. I stepped onto the court today and felt the best in a few months, feeling the ball incredibly well from both sides.
I started feeling not so great at the end of the opening set, and things got progressively worse. I will do everything to be at my best tomorrow," Alexander Zverev said.
