ATP tournament in Halle: Alexander Zverev eliminated in the semifinals

Alexander Zverev missed the final of the ATP tournament in Halle, Westphalia. The top German tennis player lost 6:7 (3:7), 7:6 (7:1), 4:6 in the semifinals on Saturday after more than three hours of play in sweltering temperatures to his arch-rival Daniil Medvedev of Russia, whom he has defeated in only two of his previous 14 matches.

Medvedev will play against fellow countryman Karen Khachanov or Kazakh Alexander Bublik on Sunday (3:00 p.m./Eurosport) for his 21st career title. Zverev, on the other hand, failed to reach the final in Halle for the third time. He lost in the final to Florian Mayer in 2016, and to Roger Federer in 2017. The Hamburg native will have to wait for his 25th victory on the ATP Tour and his first on grass.

The two rivals engaged in a close battle. The third-seeded Russian missed the only break point in the first set, and even a brief medical timeout didn't throw him off his stride. As in the quarterfinals against Alex Michelsen of the USA, Medvedev struggled with a nosebleed.

In the second set, Zverev dropped his first service game, but immediately won back the break, energizing the crowd. Both players remained steady, then Medvedev earned three match points at 6-5 and on Zverev's serve. But Zverev eked out a tiebreak, playing his best tennis.

The momentum was now on Zverev's side. However, the Tokyo Olympic champion once again conceded an early break, but Medvedev's subsequent hold on service brought him through this time. Zverev, who had vomited during his match against Flavio Cobolli of Italy in the previous round, couldn't recover in the almost 30-degree heat. Medvedev converted his fifth match point after 3:01 hours.

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