Alexander Zverev claimed a hard-fought 7.5 3-6 7-6 win after a marathon clash of almost three hours against third-seed Gilles Simon to set up a quarter final against Gael Monfils.
Zverev fired an ace down the middle to hold his serve for 5-5. On his second break point chance Zverev hit a forehannd down the line to break serve for 6-5. At 15-30 down in the next game hit a pass down the line to clinch a hard-fought 58-minute first set.
Zverev went up a set and a break in the third game of the second set for 2-1. Simon clawed his way back into the match claiming five of the next six games. The Frenchman served out the second set at love to level the match.
Simon went up a break in the third set to take a 3-2 lead. Zverev received treatment on both legs during the changeover. Despite the pain Zverev managed to break back to claw his way back into the match for 4-4 with a backhand down the line.
The match came down to the tie-break where the young German fought back from 3-4 down by reeling off the next four points to claim a 7-4 win. Zverev earned the match point when Simon netted a backhand after a 19-shot rally.
When Simon hit his forehand into the net to end the 2-hour and 55-minute match, Zverev tossed his raquet aside and thrust his arms into the air.
Zverev scored his fourth win against a top-20 player. This win will propel Zverev into the top-50. Last week he reached the semifinals in Montpellier after beating 2014 US Open Marin Cilic.
“The crowd helped me so much. I really had to give it all I have got. When I was cramping, my box was worried, but I fought hard and stayed in there. Gilles can run all day long so it was tough for me physically”, said Zverev.
Martin Klizan breezed aside Marcos Baghdatis 6-2 6-3 to reach the quarter finals. Baghdatis went up a break in the opening set but from 3-3 Klizan reeled off seven games in a row to build up a 6-3 4-0 lead thanks to a double break in the first four games of the second set. Baghdatis avoided the bagel by winning the fifth game for 1-4 but Klizan went up a 40-0 lead and fired an ace for 5-1. Klizan converted his second match point to seal the win.
