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The top seed and last week's Cologne champion Alexander Zverev is through to the fourth semi-final of the season. The German defeated the 8th seed Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 in two hours and 40 minutes, losing serve twice and delivering four breaks to cross the finish line first and remain on the title course.
Alexander fired 16 aces and nine double faults, struggling a bit on the second serve and facing seven break chances in sets one and two. Mannarino came from 5-3 down in set number two to steal it in the tie break and force a decider, unable to match Zverev's pace in the third set and falling in the quarters.
They traded breaks early in the match and served well in the next six, with Mannarino serving for staying in the set at 4-5. Zverev found the way to put him under pressure, converting the fourth set point for a solid start.
The German broke at love at 4-3 in set number two, serving for the triumph but suffering a costly break that would keep him on the court much more than he expected. Mannarino grabbed the tie break 7-5 with two mini-breaks, gathering momentum ahead of the decider.
Starting all over, Alexander produced five comfortable holds in the third set, earning a break at 3-3 and sealing the deal with a hold in game ten for the place in the semis. His next opponent is the young Italian Jannik Sinner, who ousted Gilles Simon 6-3, 0-6, 6-4 in two hours and 33 minutes.
A teenager needed every skill he possesses in his arsenal to beat the experienced Frenchman, suffering a bagel and facing no less than 21 break chances! Simon converted five of those, three in the second set, and that wasn't enough to keep him safe, losing serve four times and finishing his run in the quarters.
The Italian made a better start, opening a 4-1 lead and closing the first set with a hold at 5-3. Simon took charge in set number two, clinching all six games and hoping for more of the same in the decider, especially after taking the first couple of games.
Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner will battle for the place in the final.
Dropping eight straight games, the youngster starting to climb back, pulling the break back in game three and securing another one at 3-3 to serve for the triumph at 5-4.
Gilles wasted three break chances and Jannik sealed the deal on the first match point, advancing into the semis and staying on the course for the first ATP title. The last week's Cologne finalist Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 32 minutes, earning four breaks to reach the final four.
His next rival is the 2nd seed Diego Schwartzman who prevailed against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 2-6, 7-6, 6-1, trailing 6-2, 5-2 and fending off a match point in the eighth game of the second set before performing an escape that keeps him in contention.