Zverev One Step Closer to Maiden Grand Slam Title

Alexander Zverev advanced to the Australian Open quarter-finals with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Ugo Humbert, keeping his bid for a first Grand Slam title alive.

Alexander Zverev, the second seed, advanced to the Australian Open quarter-finals with a hard-fought win over France's Ugo Humbert, keeping his bid for a maiden Grand Slam title alive. Zverev's 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory on John Cain Arena sets up a quarter-final showdown against Tommy Paul, the 12th seed, who dominated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in his fourth-round match.

Zverev's performance was marked by a strong start and finish, although he experienced a mid-match slump. Despite this, he regained his composure to secure the win. Zverev acknowledged the challenge posed by Paul, stating, “He's an incredible top player and has improved tremendously and I'm happy to be in the quarter-finals.” Their head-to-head record favors Paul, with the American winning their two previous encounters, including a match at Indian Wells in 2022.

Zverev expressed his satisfaction with reaching the quarter-finals, saying, “Extremely happy to be in the quarters only losing one set. I definitely want to play three more matches here.” The 27-year-old has been in impressive form, building on his stellar 2024 season that propelled him to a career-high ranking of two in the world. This marks his second consecutive run to the last eight in Melbourne, following his semi-final appearance last year, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev.

Alexander Zverev is seeking to break his Grand Slam title drought, having reached the quarter-finals 14 times without securing a championship. If he succeeds, he will become the first German man to win a Slam since Boris Becker's triumph in Melbourne in 1996.

🚨 DO NOT BLINK ALERT AGAIN 🚨
First set is in the bag for Zverev at 6-1 in 27 mins! #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/SYzXNHhy5r

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 19, 2025

Zverev displayed calmness and composure against Ugo Humbert, who has struggled to advance beyond the fourth round in Grand Slams, with 25 attempts yielding no quarter-final appearances. Zverev began strongly, breaking Humbert's opening service game and dominating the first set, which he won in just 27 minutes.

However, Humbert staged a comeback in the second set, capitalizing on Zverev's faltering serve and an increase in unforced errors. Despite this setback, Zverev refocused and regained control of the match. He achieved perfection on his first serve in the third set, winning 100% of those points, and maintained his momentum to secure the victory.