Alexander Zverev reached his third Australian Open semifinal with a 7-6 (1), 7-6 (0), 2-6, 6-1 win over 12th-seeded Tommy Paul of the United States on Tuesday.
The No. 2-ranked Zverev had to save a set point in each of the first two sets but then dominated both tiebreakers.
Zverev is a two-time Grand Slam runner-up. He has never made it that far in Australia.
The German next plays the winner of a quarterfinal later Tuesday that he described as a “clash of generations” between 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, who is 37, and four-time major winner Carlos Alcaraz, 21.
Zverev needed three match points — one on Paul’s serve, and two more on his own — to clinch the victory, which he closed with an ace.
Paul was a semifinalist in Melbourne in 2023 and had won both of his previous matches against Zverev, but this was their first Grand Slam meeting.
“To be honest, I should have been down two sets to love. He played better than me,” Zverev said. “I was not playing great, and I thought he was. I somehow won the first set, somehow won the second set, I’m in the semifinals, somehow.”
His own play wasn’t the only thing troubling Zverev. He got bothered by a bird’s feather while down a break in the second set and was warned for cursing.
With a game in the balance, chair umpire Nacho Forcadell called a let and ordered a replay of a point when he saw a white feather drop into Zverev’s eyeline as the German player was in his backswing.
“What? A feather? There’s millions of them on the court,” Zverev said as he approached the official while holding up the feather.
Zverev was already heated earlier in that game, when a spectator yelled “out” during a point. Zverev complained about it to Forcadell, who asked the crowd not to shout during points. After losing the next point, Zverev was warned about showing too much frustration, and he went on to lose that game.
Zverev called the Djokovic-Alcaraz quarterfinal “probably the highlight match of the whole tournament.”
“Two of the best players that probably ever touched a tennis racket,” Zverev said. “It’s a clash of generations.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
