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Zverev to face Fritz in Halle semi-finals following Collignon victory

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Alexander Zverev will face Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals of the Halle Open after winning two tie-breaks to defeat Raphael Collignon 7-6 (12-10) 7-6 (7-2) in the last eight.

The Roland-Garros champion did not have things all his own way in front of a supportive home crowd on Friday, with neither player managing a single break throughout 24 games.

Zverev only gave up four points on his own serve in the opening set, applying some pressure in Collignon's service games but failing to prevent the tie-break.

And, having streaked into a 4-1 lead before being pegged back, Zverev had to save three set points as he ultimately prevailed 12-10, ending a long rally with a backhand winner on the third set point of his own.

The second set was equally tight, with the only break point being squandered by Collignon in game eight, and the Belgian was made to pay as Zverev dominated the next tie-break.

The German will now face world number nine Fritz for a spot in the final, with Daniil Medvedev and Felix Auger-Aliassime being the seeded players on the other side of the draw.

Zverev continues strong form on home soil

Fresh from his maiden grand slam success at the French Open, Zverev continues to ramp up his Wimbledon preparations on home soil.

Zverev is just the fourth player to reach six Halle Open semi-finals, after Roger Federer (15), Yevgeny Kafelnikov (seven) and Philipp Kohlschreiber (six), though he has never won the title, losing in the 2016 (to Florian Mayer) and 2017 (to Federer) finals. 

He has now won 10 successive matches, while this was his 38th victory of the season, surpassing Jannik Sinner for the most on the ATP Tour outright.

Zverev has made at least the semi-finals at eight of his 10 tournaments this year, becoming the first player on the ATP Tour to reach that figure, and his record against players from outside the top 50 stands at 12-0 since the Mexican Open, where he lost to Miomir Kecmanovic in the second round.