Zverev Rolls Past Hanfmann into Halle Quarterfinals, Eyes First Grass Title

Home crowd lifts Zverev into Halle last 8 after French Open triumph

After winning Roland Garros, Zverev is into the Halle quarterfinals. He’ll face either Raphael Collignon or Mattia Bellucci next as he chases a first grass-court title.

Zverev continues hot streak, beats Hanfmann 6-3, 7-6(4) at Halle Open...

Alexander Zverev moved into the Halle Open quarterfinals on Thursday, stretching his hot streak that began with his French Open win on clay in early June. The world No. 3 is still rolling on grass.

Playing in front of a home crowd, the top-seeded Zverev took out fellow German Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 7-6(4). The win keeps him on track for a first career grass-court title.

Zverev grabbed a single break to snatch the first set. The second stayed on serve as both players held, so it went to a tiebreak. Zverev stayed sharp and closed it out comfortably.

The top seed admitted he’s still getting used to the switch from clay to grass. “It is the most important shot on grass,” he said, pointing to his return as the area he wants to improve.

“I've only been on a grass court for a couple of days but I'm through to the quarter-finals, so I'm happy with that,” Zverev added.

The 29-year-old broke through at Roland Garros, outlasting Italy’s Flavio Cobolli in a wild five-set final to claim his first Grand Slam title.

Zverev, an Olympic gold medallist, had been knocking on the door for years. He came painfully close before, dropping all three of his previous Grand Slam finals.

Cobolli got a bit of payback on Wednesday. He knocked Zverev out of the Halle doubles on grass, reversing the Roland Garros result.

Zverev reached the final of this Wimbledon warm-up event back in 2016 and 2017. He’ll play either Raphael Collignon or Mattia Bellucci on Friday with a semifinal spot on the line.

Ben Shelton kept his run going on Thursday, edging fellow American Ethan Quinn 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals. Up next is Taylor Fritz in a rematch of Sunday’s Stuttgart final, where Shelton came out on top.

The rest of the quarterfinal lineup is stacked. World No. 4 Felix Auger-Aliassime takes on Frances Tiafoe, and 2021 US Open champ Daniil Medvedev faces German Daniel Altmaier.