Zverev halts Rublev juggernaut to reach first Melbourne quarters

MELBOURNE (REUTERS): Seventh seed Alexander Zverev of Germany strolled past childhood friend Andrey Rublev 6-4 6-4 6-4 yesterday to end the Russian’s 15-match winning streak and book his maiden quarter-final spot in the Australian Open.

Rublev arrived in Melbourne having won titles in Doha and Adelaide at the start of the season while he also won all four singles matches he contested at the season-ending Davis Cup Finals in November. In stark contrast, Zverev came to the year’s first Grand Slam lacking confidence after losing all three of his singles matches at the inaugural ATP Cup to Australia’s Alex de Minaur, Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and Canada’s Denis Shapovalov.

But the German has showed no signs of any baggage at Melbourne Park, cruising through his four matches at the tournament without dropping a set. Zverev won 49 of his 54 first-service points, struck 11 aces and hit his 34th winner to complete the win in an hour and 37 minutes. Zverev will next face former champion Stan Wawrinka, who earlier battled past Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev 6-2 2-6 4-6 7-6(2) 6-2, for a place in the last four.