ATP Montreal: Zverev survives Basilashvili. Khachanov spoils birthday party
A few weeks ago, Alexander Zverev squandered match points against Nikoloz Basilashvili in the hometown of Hamburg, suffering another heavy loss that we have already seen many times this season from the young German. The Canadian Open champion from two years ago, Alexander battled against Basilashvili again in the third round, delivering a 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 victory in two hours and 44 minutes for the 30th win in 2019 and the 13th Masters 1000 quarter-final. Zverev won just one point more than Basilashvili, failing to save any of five break points offered to the rival and creating 18 opportunities on the other side, seizing five to stay neck and neck all the time. They both had a lot of unforced errors, counting to more than 100 combined and with nothing to separate them in the quickest, mid-range and most extended exchanges to push each other towards the very last point.
Alexander broke in the third game after a backhand mistake from Basilashvili who broke back at love in the next game, fending off a couple of break points at 3-3 to remain on the positive side of the scoreboard. The German grabbed another lead with a break at love that sent him 5-4 up, unable to close the set on own serve, another feature of his game we had the opportunity to notice many times in 2019. Still, he broke again with a beautiful backhand down the line winner and closed the set with an ace in the next game for a 7-5 after an hour. They traded breaks early in the second set and Nikoloz escaped four break points at 4-4 that could have sent him down, gaining the momentum and sealing the set with a break at 6-5 following a lucky net cord that sent the clash into a decider. There, Zverev broke in the first game with a volley winner, staying in front until game eight when he hit a double fault to give serve away at love and secure more drama in the closing stages.
Four good holds later they went into a tie break and it was Zverev who was more focused, creating the match point at 5-5 with a service winner and converting it when Nikoloz sent a forehand long to advance into the last eight. Alexander will now face the 6th seed Karen Khachanov who toppled Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7, 7-5, 6-3 on the Canadian's 19th birthday! Karen is through to the fourth Masters 1000 quarter-final and the second in a row in Canada, winning eight points more than his rival in tough windy conditions that cause 100 unforced errors in what certainly wasn't the best match we could have watched. The Russian saved seven out of 12 break points and used his opportunities on the return after 12 double faults from Felix who gave serve away seven times to find himself on the losing side despite giving his best to prevail. The opening set lasted for more than an hour and it was a complete mess on both sides, with players failing to find the rhythm and also tantrums between Khachanov and the partisan Canadian crowd.
The Russian broke first in the fifth game after a lucky net cord, getting broken at love in the next game when his backhand landed long to bring Felix back to the positive side of the scoreboard. The youngster gave serve again in the next game and Khachanov served for the set at 5-4, spraying a backhand error on the fourth break chance to keep Auger-Aliassime alive before going into a tie break. From 6-4 down, the Canadian hit two winners to level the score at 6-6, securing the mini-break at 7-7 against a frustrated opponent and closing the set with a service winner after 65 minutes and more than 40 unforced errors overall! The second set was just as long as the first one, with 13 break chances and seven mediocre service games. Carried by the momentum from the opener, Felix won eight of the first nine points to forge a 2-0 advantage, wasting game points at 2-1 and allowing Karen to break back after a double fault.
They broke each other in games five and six as well before the Russian broke for the third time in a row to open a 5-3 gap, failing to serve out for the set as Felix broke at love with a forehand winner, keeping chances of straight sets triumph alive. It wasn't to be for him, though, losing serve at 15 in the 12th game and sending the boost to the other side of the net ahead of the decider. There, they both lost seven points on serve and it was Khachanov who grabbed a break in game four following a loose backhand from Auger-Aliassime, opening the lead and keeping it safe until the end, moving over the top with a service winner in game nine to stay in contention and set that intriguing Zverev clash.
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