'What I came here for' - Alexander Zverev downs Grigor Dimitrov to reach Chengdu final, Katie Boulter crashes out
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Updated 26/09/2023 at 07:49 GMT
Alexander Zverev is one win away from clinching his second title of the season after taking down Grigor Dimitrov to reach the Chengdu Open final. Top seed Zverev will face maiden ATP Tour finalist Roman Safiullin for the trophy. Elsewhere, Karen Khachanov and Yoshihito Nishioka earned last-four wins to set up their final in Zhuhai, but Britain's Katie Boulter fell in the first round in Ningbo.
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Alexander Zverev stormed into the Chengdu Open final on Monday by beating Grigor Dimitrov, while Karen Khachanov reached the final in Zhuhai and Katie Boulter crashed out in Ningbo.
World No. 10 Zverev is chasing his second title of the season in China and moved one win away from that goal with a 6-3 7-6(2) victory over Dimitrov.
Making his first tournament appearance since an impressive run to the US Open quarter-finals, the German has swept past Pavel Kotov, Miomir Kecmanovic and Dimitrov en route to the final and will now face Roman Safiullin for the trophy.
Zverev, the top seed, hit 21 winners, nine aces and saved all five of the break points he faced in an emphatic one hour 50 minute semi-final victory.
“For sure it was the best match I’ve played [in Chengdu],” said Zverev.
“Even though I think yesterday’s match was a very high level, and Kecmanovic was playing extremely well.
“I’m very happy to be in the final, that’s what I came here for and hopefully it’s going to be another high-level match tomorrow.”
World No. 55 Safiullin will be competing in his first ATP Tour final on Tuesday.
He got there after beating Lorenzo Musetti 6-3 6-4 in his last-four clash, following prior wins over Brandon Nakashima, Daniel Evans and Jordan Thompson.
“I think this tournament [Safiullin] has been one of the most dangerous players,” said Zverev.
“He is somebody that plays very fast, hits the ball extremely hard and he is somebody that maybe sometimes lacks consistency. This week obviously he’s playing extremely well, and when he’s playing like that, he’s one of the most dangerous players.”
In Zhuhai, Khachanov defeated Sebastian Korda 7-5 6-4 to set up a championship decider against Yoshihito Nishioka.
The Russian world No. 15 has four tour-level titles to his name but hasn’t won one for five years.
He has had an injury-disrupted season after suffering a stress fracture during a run to the quarter-finals at Roland-Garros in June.
His next opponent Nishioka reached the final with a 6-4 6-4 win over Aslan Karatsev, and the Japanese player will compete in his first tour-level final since winning in Seoul in 2022.
British No. 1 Boulter fell at the first hurdle at the Ningbo Open in China, losing 4-6 6-4 6-7(3) to Vera Zvonareva in a battle that lasted more than three hours.
It was a disappointment for the 27-year-old and an early shock result given her status as the seventh seed.
The 39-year-old Zvonareva is a strong doubles player, ranked 22nd in the world, but her singles ranking is No. 526 and she last won a singles title in Doha in 2011.
Fellow Brit Jodie Burrage will face Tamara Korpatsch in the first round on Tuesday.
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