Toppling second seed Alexander Zverev is no easy feat.
The German became the first man through to the Australian Open 2025 semifinals, recovering from set point deficits in the first two sets to secure a 7-6(1) 7-6(0) 2-6 6-1 victory over Tommy Paul.
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In a sundrenched Rod Laver Arena battle spanning three hours and 28 minutes, the 12th seeded American served to close out the first two sets at 6-5 and 5-3 only to be reeled back in by the world No.2.
“I should’ve been down two sets to love,” admitted Zverev. “I feel like I stole both of those sets in a way, because he was playing better than me, and he was serving for both of those sets.”
But instead of succumbing to the scoreline, the assured 27-year-old broke back to force a pair of decisive tiebreaks that he dominated.
“I’m obviously extremely happy to be back in the semifinals,” he said.
Zverev, who is hunting a first men’s singles title to add to his AO 2014 junior boys’ crown, managed to steel his emotions after receiving a warning for an audible obscenity in the second set just moments after the chair umpire decided a point should be replayed due to a rogue feather.
“Not sure it was a hindrance to anybody,” mused Zverev. “It doesn't change the trajectory of the ball.” With the benefit of hindsight, it proved not to change the trajectory of the match either.
If Paul replays any points in his mind over the coming days, they’ll likely include his pair of misfired backhands on both of the set points he held, as well as misplaced backhands when he held break points on Zverev’s serve at 1-5 in the fourth, which prevented what could have been an inspired comeback.
At the finish line, showing no sign of the bicep strain that forced him to withdraw from the United Cup, Zverev fired his seventh ace of the match to secure victory. The German won 72 per cent of first serve points and clocked a first serve average of 207 km/h, almost 20 km/h faster than Paul’s 188 km/h. His second serve average was quicker by a larger margin: 176 km/h to 144 km/h.
Paul acknowledged Zverev outplayed him on clutch points.
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“He picks up his level at the big moments, and my level unfortunately dropped in the big moments today,” said the 27-year-old, whose silver lining is a career-high top 10 debut next week.
“I just have to close those sets out - that's what the top players do so well, when they're front-running, they do a great job in closing big sets or any sets, and that's what I didn't do well today.”
The American was aware of his costly and exorbitant unforced error count, which tallied 56, 20 more than Zverev’s. “You can't have that when you're playing guys who are No.2 in the world at Slams,” Paul said.
Zverev’s 30th win at Melbourne Park edges him ahead of Boris Becker and sets the record for the most AO men’s singles victories by a German player. By reaching a ninth Grand Slam semifinal, he is now level with Daniil Medvedev and Stan Wawrinka for the most major semifinal berths among active players, though the trio trail Novak Djokovic by a wide margin.
Ahead of his third AO semifinal on Friday, Zverev is laser focused. “I'm going to do everything I can to be in another [final] on Sunday,” he said. “Lifting the trophy is what’s on my mind.”
“I want to achieve my dream of winning a Grand Slam, and I’m chasing that.”
The world No.2’s opponent will be decided by tonight’s blockbuster quarterfinal featuring Carlos Alcaraz and Djokovic, a clash that Zverev agrees deserves hype.
“It's probably the highlight match of the whole tournament,” he said. “Two of the best players that ever touched a tennis racquet. Novak is the greatest of all time right now, Carlos is going to be one of them when he hangs it up, so it’s a clash of generations.”
“It’s a privilege to witness it in Australia.”