Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev will face each other for the second time in less than a week when they meet again on Saturday in the semi-finals of the Rolex Paris Masters.
They faced each other in the title match in Vienna last Sunday, where Sinner triumphed 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. Their head-to-head ratios now all stand at 4-4, but unsurprisingly the Italian has won three in a row. Zverev’s last victory came during a late-night, energy-sapping five-set marathon at the 2023 US Open.
That result immediately preceded Sinner’s rise to the top of the sport, which began in earnest during the fall swing of 2023. The second-ranked Italian has since captured four Grand Slam titles and spent 65 weeks at No. 1 in the world. He will surpass Carlos Alcaraz and return to No. 1 next Monday when he lifts the Paris trophy.
Sinner’s attempt to do just that has been routine so far. The 24-year-old booked his place in the last four with outright defeats to Zizou Bergs, Francisco Cerundolo and Ben Shelton. Sinner hasn’t looked 100 percent physically at times, but that doesn’t matter.
For Zverev, the story was very different on Friday. He saved two match points at 5-6 in the final set before beating Daniil Medvedev 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) in two hours and 30 minutes. The third-ranked German also needed three tight sets against Camilo Ugo Carabelli in the second round before making quick work of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the last 16.
Unless Sinner feels even worse than Thursday and Friday, this should be a one-way street. The Paris No. 2 has been clinical so far, and it doesn’t help Zverev that he is coming off a mentally and physically taxing match against Medvedev.
Choice: sinner in 2
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