Though he’s maintained his No. 3 ranking, Zverev is looking to pick up his first trophy since triumphing in Munich last April. It was Cobolli who dashed the 29-year-old’s hopes of retaining that title prior to their arrival in the Spanish capital.
“No revenge, I love Flavio. He’s one of my favorite guys on tour,” insisted Zverev during his ATP Media interview with Ursin Cadereas. “This is sport. Sport can change very quickly. In Munich, he played an amazing match. I didn’t play a very good match. Today, maybe it was the opposite.”
By advancing, the Hamburg native now owns the most clay-court wins of any German male player in the Open Era with 179 victories. The next challenge for Zverev: snapping a six-match losing streak in 1000-level semifinals.
“Of course, I need to get past this stage now,” he laughed.
