Alexander Zverev moved on to the semifinals of the Paris Masters by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-4 on Friday, eliminating the Greek player from the race for the ATP Finals.
The third-seeded German player did not face any break points during the match.
Zverev, who was the runner-up at the French Open, will next compete against 2022 champion Holger Rune for a chance to win the title. This marks his third semifinal appearance in Paris in the last four years, but he has yet to win this hard-court tournament.
The first chance for a break came in the 11th game when Tsitsipas struggled with his serve. Zverev capitalized on an unforced error to break for a 6-5 lead.
Although Tsitsipas saved two set points, he wasted his only break point opportunity with his 17th unforced error before Zverev finished the set.
In the second set, Zverev broke Tsitsipas again in the third game and dominated, winning 12 straight points during his last three service games.
With this win, Zverev became the first player born in the 1990s to achieve 100 victories over top-20 players. Daniil Medvedev is just one win behind at 99.
Tsitsipas, who had reached the ATP Finals for five years in a row, committed 28 unforced errors against 18 winners.
In another match, Rune outlasted Alex de Minaur 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in a long battle lasting 2 1/2 hours, improving his record against the Australian to 3-2.
Later on Friday, French player Ugo Humbert was set to face Australia’s Jordan Thompson after Humbert’s surprising win over Carlos Alcaraz.
The last match of the night featured eighth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov against 2018 champion Karen Khachanov.
Top-ranked Jannik Sinner and record seven-time champion Novak Djokovic both withdrew from the Paris Masters. The ATP Finals in Turin are scheduled to begin on Nov. 10.
