Last year’s ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev fought back from his fourth round defeat against Denis Shapovalov by beating Mackenze McDonald 6-2 7-6 (7-5) to reach the quarter finals at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier.
Zverev won the Montpellier title in his most recent appearance at this tournament in 2017.
Zverev earned two breaks in the third and fifth games and held his service games to win the first set 6-2. The German star went up a set and a break to take a 3-1 lead. McDonald broke back in the eighth game to draw level to 4-4. McDoland went up a 4-2 lead with a mini-break on the sixth point, but Zverev won five of the next six games with two mini-breaks to seal the tie-break 7-5.
“I think he was going for his shots, he was trying to play extremely aggressive and i was happy to win in two sets. I left a lot of chances out there in the second set, but in the end I won, so that’s the most important thing”, said Zverev.
Zverev set up a quarter final clash against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, who upset defending champion David Goffin 6-4 6-2. Mannarino went up a 3-0 lead with a double break. Goffin pulled back both breaks to draw level to 3-3, but Mannarino earned his third break to close out the first set 6-4. Mannarino broke twice in the fifth and seventh games to seal the second set 6-2.
Mannarino reached the fourth round at the Australian Open with wins over James Duckworth, Hubert Hurkacz and Aslan Karatsev.
Zverev leads 6-0 in his head-to-head matches against Mannarino.
“Every time I have played with him, it was very long, very hard and very physical. He is playing extremely well. In Australia he was playing extremely well. In Australia he was playing extremely well. Here he is playing well, so I am looking forward to this match. It’s not going to be an easy one”, said Zverev.
Richard Gasquet took down Soonwoo Kwon 7-5 6-4 to advance to the quarter finals. Gasquet, who won the Montplellier title three times in 2013, 2015 and 2016, sealed the first set with a break at deuce in the 11th game to win the first set 7-5. He converted his third break point in the first game of the second set to close out the second 6-4.
“I was solid on court. I did not make many mistakes, which was the key in the match. I played well and I did not make many mistakes, which was the key in the match. I did not lose my serve. When playing indoors the court is fast, so I had to serve well and I did. I am really happy because he is a great player”, said Gasquet.
Gasquet will take on Swede Michael Ymer, who cruised past Gael Monfils 6-1 6-2 in 58 minutes. Ymer leads 2-0 in his head-to-head matches against Monfils after beating the Frenchman at Roland Garros last year.
