PARIS — Jannik Sinner defeated a tired-looking Alexander Zverev 6-0, 6-1 in just over an hour on Saturday to reach the Paris Masters final and move closer to reclaiming the top spot in the rankings.
The four-time Grand Slam champion will replace six-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz at the top if he beats ninth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime in Sunday’s final, but he needs a win to secure eighth place and the final spot in the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.
Auger-Aliassime earlier defeated Alexander Bublik 7-6 (3), 6-4 in the semi-finals at La Defense Arena.
Sinner extended his indoor winning streak to 25 matches with a victory over Zverev in last weekend’s Vienna final. He won four straight against defending champion Zverev in Paris and led 5-4 in career meetings.
Second-seeded Sinner led 5-0 after 25 minutes and won 90% of his first serve points when serving out in the first set, compared to just 47% for Zverev. He had five break points on Zverev’s serve and converted two of them.
In the second set, Sinner broke Zverev to take a 2-1 lead. After the match, the third-seeded German stood with his hands on his knees, looking exhausted.
“It’s always a special occasion to play against Sasha, but he obviously wasn’t 100% today, and we saw that,” said Sinner, who won 13 of 16 second-serve return points against one of the most powerful serves on tour.
“When you’re as physical as he is, you can’t use your full power on your serve,” Sinner added. “I’m happy to have made it to the finals, but it’s not the result you were hoping for.”
Zverev defeated Daniil Medvedev in three sets in a tough quarterfinal on Friday, saving two match points and ending his losing streak against the Russian at five.
The sinner felt pity.
“Yesterday he won a great match by falling two match points short,” Sinner said. “To reach the final in Vienna and then come here and reach the semi-finals again is an incredible run, but we all hope he gets better and is fit for Turin.”
Sinner will make a bid for his fifth title of the year and 23rd of his career on Sunday. This will be Auger-Aliassime’s fourth appearance this season and ninth overall.
Their head-to-head record is 2 wins and 2 losses, with Sinner winning the last two matches, including the semifinals of this year’s US Open.
“I had a good match in New York, I think it was good tennis, but he still gave me the best,” Auger-Aliassime said. “He urges his players to be very disciplined tactically and to execute their games almost perfectly in order to win. You have to be prepared to play your best tennis and not make cheap mistakes.”
Bublik led 4-1 in the second set, but slammed his racket on the ground in one of the games, causing him to lose his fifth straight match.
Auger-Aliassime started this match with his 12th ace. A forehand winner near the net gave him his first match point, and he converted it with another big forehand. Auger-Aliassime patted his chest and waved to the crowd.
Auger-Aliassime won titles in Adelaide, Montpellier and Brussels this year.
Bublik, the 13th seed, became the first Kazakh player to reach the Masters semifinals. It was his fourth loss in six matches against Auger-Aliassime.
