By Chris Oddo | Friday March 30, 2018
Alexander Zverev is hitting his stride in southern Florida and he moved one match from his third Masters 1000 title with a takedown of Pablo Carreno Busta on Friday.
Photo Source: Michael Reaves/Getty
March is supposed to come in like a lion and go out like a lamb but nobody told 20-year-old German Alexander Zverev because he behaved like the king of the jungle on Friday night, reaching the Miami Open semifinals with a pulsating 7-6(4), 6-2 victory over Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain.
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It was a potent performance for a player who possesses plenty of firepower even if he doesn’t always flaunt it in his biggest matches.
Today 6’6” Zverev flaunted it in style, and the result was a lopsided match that saw the German blast 30 winners to just 11 for Carreno Busta while never really sacrificing any consistency in the process.
Zverev has been known to play tennis that borders on being a little too passive at times, but he seemed to know that an aggressive gameplan would serve him better against the grinding Spaniard on this evening. So he upped the ante on the biggest of points and on many occasions took the racquet out of Carreno Busta’s hands, particularly in the first-set tiebreaker, which he won because of several courageous and utterly jaw-dropping backhands, and in the later stages of the second set, which saw him reel off the final four games behind a barrage of big serves and well-timed power strokes.
This type of a performance at this stage of a Masters 1000 has become commonplace for the World No.5, if not at the major tournaments. He improved to 3-0 lifetime in Masters 1000 semifinals—on his previous two appearances at this level he not only won his semifinal but charged further and won the title.
His success at this level has made many expect a breakout at the Grand Slam level, but that has yet to come from the German. In 11 appearances at major he has not reached a single quarterfinal.
Nevertheless a trip to a third Masters 1000 final is very good news for a young player who many believe has future No.1 written all over him. After a slow start to 2018 and a disappointing third-round loss to Hyeon Chung at the Australian Open, Zverev’s stock appears to be on the rise again.
To make is soar further on Sunday he’ll have to get past the suddenly surging John Isner in the final. The pair’s fourth meeting will be a rematch of last year’s Rome semifinal as well as last year’s third-round tilt at the Miami Open. Zverev won the Miami contest in three tiebreakers before bowing out to Nick Kyrgios in the quarterfinals.
This year Zverev has improved incrementally with each passing round at Key Biscayne. He needed three sets to get by Daniil Medvedev in his opener and another three to put down David Ferrer in the third round. Since he has powered past Nick Kyrgios and Borna Coric in straight sets, and rather authoritatively. The German was explosive in his victory over Coric and showed the same bristle on Friday evening against Carreno Busta. He was never reckless but he artfully picked his spots to impose his will on the 26-year-old World No.19, and he rarely missed.
Zverev never faced a break point, won 35 of 40 first serve points and cracked ten aces. He’ll need to make sure he holds his serve on Sunday as well, because Isner has hardly put a foot wrong in his run to the final.
On Friday the towering American pummeled Juan Martin del Potro, snapping the Argentine’s winning streak at 15 and booking his first final of 2018. Isner was 2-6 entering Miami this year, but has caught fire this week. It helps that he has developed an affinity for the court conditions and weather at the Crandon Park Tennis Center in Key Biscayne over the years, and he will be a dangerous player in the final.
Zverev will have little room for error but it doesn’t mean he won’t win; as well as he is playing he may not need it.