Zverev Stays Perfect vs. Mannarino With Cincinnati QF Win

Alexander Zverev extended his perfect Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Adrian Mannarino to 8-0 with a comfortable victory on Friday night at the Western & Southern Open. Zverev cruised through a 6-2, 6-3 win in just one hour, 12 minutes to set up a semi-final showdown with Novak Djokovic or Taylor Fritz.

“I feel like the matches that we played, we had a lot of tough battles. I’ve always played him at tournaments when I’ve been playing well,” Zverev said of his unblemished record against the Frenchman.

“I know I have a pretty big game and when I’m feeling well on the court, there’s just a lot of things I can do. That was maybe the reason. If I would have played him at a tournament where I’m not feeling well, if I’m not playing well, he’s beaten a lot of great players in his career. It’s just more about the days that I’ve played him.”

The result also stretched Zverev’s Cincinnati winning streak to eight matches following an 0-6 start in the Queen City, with the German back at the ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time since he won the 2021 title. After winning his first ATP Tour crown since the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals last month on home soil in Hamburg, Zverev is now through to his first Masters 1000 semi-final since the ankle injury he suffered last year at Roland Garros.

The 26-year-old’s quarter-final win lifted him two places into the all-important eighth spot in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, though Fritz could reclaim the position with a win against Djokovic later on Friday evening. Zverev is also up five places this week to No. 12 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, and will re-enter the Top 10 with the Cincinnati title.

“My tennis is coming along quite well,” he said of his recent form. “Obviously it was very important for me after Toronto, where I had a really bad week, to come out here and compete and play some good tennis. I’m happy to be in the semi-finals here.”

The German dominated Mannarino from the start, racing out to a 3-0 lead in both sets and never facing a break point. His most stressful service game came in the final game of the match, when he escaped 15/30 with three unreturned serves. Mannarino did not produce a single winner in the opening set in the face of Zverev’s aggressive game, and while the Frenchman improved in set two, it was never enough to trouble his 16th-seeded opponent.

The win continues a strong week for Zverev, who recorded his first Top 10 win of the season on Thursday against World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev.