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The No. 2-ranked Zverev had to save a set point
in each of the first two sets but then dominated both
tiebreakers.
Zverev is a two-time Grand Slam runner-up. He never has made it
that far in Australia.
The German next plays the winner of a quarterfinal later Tuesday
that he described as a “clash of generations” between 10-time
Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, who is 37, and
four-time major winner Carlos Alcaraz, 21.
Zverev needed three match points — one on Paul's serve, and two
more on his own — to clinch the victory, which he closed with an
ace.
Paul was a semifinalist in Melbourne in 2023 and had won both of
his previous matches against Zverev, but this was their first
Grand Slam meeting.
“To be honest, I should have been down two sets to love. He
played better than me," Zverev said. "I was not playing great,
and I thought he was. I somehow won the first set, somehow won
the second set I’m in the semifinals, somehow.”
He called the Djokovic-Alcaraz quarterfinal “probably the
highlight match of the whole tournament.”
“Two of the best players that probably ever touched a tennis
racket," Zverev said. "It’s a clash of generations.”
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