Zverev edges Sinner in Monte Carlo classic to reach semis
MONACO (AP) - Alexander Zverev prevailed against Jannik Sinner 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (5) in a Monte Carlo Masters classic to reach the semifinals of the clay-court season opener on Friday.
Sinner overcame an early break to win the first set, and Zverev repaid the favor in the second. Zverev fought back twice from a break down in the third set and had to force the quarterfinal to a tiebreaker.
In a match with 10 service breaks, half of the tiebreaker points went against serve, and Zverev finally won after more than three hours when Sinner netted.
Zverev will meet defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas or Diego Schwartzmann in the semifinals on Saturday.
Novak Djokovic's conqueror, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain, knocked out Taylor Fritz of the U.S. 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. Davidovich Fokina broke the 10th seed at 3-3 in the decider to line up his first semifinal in a masters event with Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria.
'œI am enjoying every point,'ť Davidovich Fokina said. 'œI stayed focused and believed in myself."
Dimitrov edged Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2). The unseeded Bulgarian dropped two match points in the deciding set before taking it in a tiebreaker.
'œI didn't really want to focus much on if I'm going to win or lose, because it's not always the best thing,'ť Dimitrov said. 'œI was seeing quite a few cracks in the way he was attacking the ball, especially in the tiebreak."
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