Zverev too strong for Zhang as he reaches semi-finals of Hamburg Open

Alexander Zverev, the top seed, moved into the last four of the Hamburg Open by winning against Chinese Zhizhen Zhang, the No 8 seed, 6-4, 6-3 at the Rothenbaum Tennis Center.

It was a clinical and professional performance from the German, who broke once in the first set and twice in the second without reply to overpower his opponent.

In front of his home fans, Zverev looked dialled-in and had no intention of repeating the epic nail-biter of his previous round’s match against Hugo Gaston that went the distance.

Zverev, ranked No 4, will face Spaniard Pedro Martinez next.

The German beat Dutch qualifier Jesper De Jong (6-2, 6-2) and edged out Frenchman Hugo Gaston (4-6, 6-2, 7-5) earlier in the tournament.

In the previous rounds of the Hamburg tournament, Zhang, ranked No 34, defeated Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild (7-6 (6), 6-0) and Italian Flavio Cobolli (6-1, 7-6 (5)).

Hamburg ATP 500, other last-eight results (Rothenbaum Tennis Center, clay, EUR 1.891.995, most recent results first):

• Pedro Martinez beat Francisco Cerundolo (4): 1-6, 6-1, 6-4
• Arthur Fils (5) beat Holger Rune (2): 6-4, 4-1 ret.
• Sebastian Baez (3) beat Luciano Darderi (7): 2-6, 6-4, 6-4