Defending champion Alexander Zverev battled back from a set down to defeat Frenchman Hugo Gaston 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the Round of 16 at the Hamburg Open on Thursday. Despite ongoing recovery from a knee injury sustained at Wimbledon, Zverev showcased resilience and skill, especially in countering Gaston’s drop shots.
Gaston initially seized control of the match by winning the first set following a prolonged 30-ball rally. Zverev, however, contested that the rally should have been stopped for a double bounce. Determined to bounce back, Zverev broke serve early in the second set and went on to level the match.
The final set saw both players exchanging breaks of serve, with Zverev ultimately securing the decisive break at 6-5 before holding serve to seal his place in the quarterfinals.
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Zverev, the tournament’s top seed, is set to face Chinese eighth seed Zhang Zhizhen, who progressed after defeating Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 7-6(5).
In other matches, French fifth seed Arthur Fils advanced by overcoming Serbian Laslo Djere, last year’s runner-up, 7-6(3), 6-2. This victory marks Fils’ sixth tour-level quarterfinal appearance this season. The 20-year-old, who leads the ATP’s ‘Race to Jeddah’, will now compete against second seed Holger Rune, who dispatched Marco Trungelliti 6-4, 6-3 in just 80 minutes.
Rune, reflecting on his recent performance, mentioned that he used his straight-sets loss to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon as motivation. “I didn’t want to rest; I wanted to get back to practice immediately. I was very disappointed, so I focused on improving the aspects of my game that needed work,” Rune said.
With the Hamburg Open heating up, Zverev, Rune, and the rising stars are set to deliver more exciting tennis as the tournament progresses.
