Alexander Zverev defeated Yannick Hanfmann, 6-4, 7-6, in the second round of the Halle Open.
The German extended his winning streak to nine matches as he secured his spot in the quarter-finals of his home tournament.
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Zverev also broke an all-time ATP Tour record with the win, surpassing the legend himself, Rafael Nadal.
Alexander Zverev breaks Rafael Nadal’s record for ATP 500 match wins
Zverev’s win over Hanfmann was his 122nd at the ATP 500 level.
Before the Halle Open began, Nadal held the record for ATP 500 match wins, with 121.
However, despite winning more matches than anyone else, it’s unfair to say that Zverev is the greatest player in ATP 500 history.
All-time ATP 500 match wins list
| Rank | Name | ATP 500 wins | ATP 500 losses | ATP 500 win % | ATP 500 titles |
| 1 | Alexander Zverev | 122 | 51 | 71% | 6 |
| 2 | Rafael Nadal | 121 | 19 | 86% | 23 |
| 3 | David Ferrer | 116 | 39 | 75% | 10 |
| 4 | Andrey Rublev | 115 | 50 | 70% | 6 |
| 5 | Roger Federer | 111 | 11 | 91% | 24 |
| 6 | Kei Nishikori | 103 | 41 | 72% | 6 |
Zverev has won 122 matches, but he has also lost 51.
His win % (71%) pales in comparison to Nadal’s (86%) and Roger Federer’s (91%).
And the 29-year-old only has six titles to his name, level with Andrey Rublev and Kei Nishikori.
Zverev’s consistency has seen him rack up over 100 match wins, but he hasn’t shown the level required to win titles as easily as Nadal and Federer.
But perhaps with the confidence he gained from winning the French Open, that could all be about to change.
Alexander Zverev reacts after reaching the Halle Open quarter-finals
Zverev was pleased with the win as he secured his place in the quarter-finals.
“I thought it was a very good level grass-court match, both of us serving extremely well. I used the chances that I had; I didn’t have many, but the ones I had, I used them extremely well,” he said during his post-match interview.
“At the end of the day, I think I had two break points, I think I used one of them, and I won another tiebreak, so sometimes matches are like that on a grass court, and yeah, I’m happy with the win.”
Alexander Zverev’s match stats vs Yannick Hanfmann
- Aces – 9
- Double faults – 1
- First serve % – 75%
- Win % on 1st Serve – 93%
- Win % on 2nd Serve – 64%
- Break points – 1/2
- Total points won – 63
Zverev was then asked about the effectiveness of his serve-plus-one and whether that discouraged him from serve-and-volleying.
“I don’t know,” he said.
“I didn’t really have much time to practice it; I’m still very careful movement-wise on this court.
“I feel like when you serve and volley, you have to be very comfortable on this surface, and I’m still a little bit fragile because I didn’t have much time on it, but I think it’s going to get more and more [comfortable].
“But today, when the ball is coming back, the return was coming back extremely fast, I didn’t really have time to serve and volley, but I was still serving well enough to not be broken, and I don’t see a reason to change tactics today, let’s put it that way.”
Finally, Zverev was asked if he planned to work on anything in particular before the quarter-finals.
“I think the most important shot on the grass court is the return actually, it’s more important than the serve,” he said.
“You really have to use your chance on the return when you get them, and it’s a big change-up, because the grass courts are probably the surface where I return closest to the line, whereas on the clay, I return the furthest back. That’s a massive change, and something that I still need to do better.
“But again, I’ve only been on a grass court for a couple of days, and I’m in the quarter-finals here, and I’m happy with that.”
Zverev will return to play his quarter-final match against either Raphael Collignon or Matteo Bellucci on Friday, June 19.
