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Alexander Zverev Monte Carlo Masters 2021

‘Beating him in his house is incredible,’ Zverev stuns Nadal to progress to semi-finals in Madrid


Alexander Zverev has upset no. 1 seed and five-time champion Rafael Nadal in straight sets to reach the last four of the Madrid Masters.

Alexander Zverev conquered Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-4 in the Spanish capital to reach the semi-finals in Madrid for a second time, taking under two hours to do so.

“Yeah definitely one of the biggest wins of my career so far,” Zverev said in his on-court interview. “I mean especially on clay against Rafa, as I said, it’s the toughest thing to do in our sport.

“Beating him in ‘his house’ as you said, in Spain, is incredible. But the tournament is not over yet and I’m looking forward to [facing] Thiem who is another great clay court player.”

The loss means that Rafael Nadal will not add a sixth Madrid title to his most recent triumph in 2017, while Zverev could make it a double for himself, having clinched the trophy in 2018.

 

 

Zverev dominated behind his first serve, winning 82% of points when he got his first attempt in. Zverev also only gave Nadal two break point chances in the entire match, surrendering one.

Alexander Zverev will face Dominic Thiem for a place in the Madrid final, the first meeting between the two since the 2020 US Open final.

(Photo credit Ray Giubilo)