Alexander Zverev Vs Ben Shelton, Cincinnati Open: Third Seed Wins To Set Up Carlos Alcaraz Semis Showdown

Alexander Zverev cruised to a surprisingly comfortable straight-sets win over Ben Shelton, setting up a Cincinnati Open semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz.

The world number three needed just one hour and 17 minutes to earn a 6-2 6-2 victory and end Shelton's nine-match winning streak.

The American, who won the Toronto Open last week, won his first service game, but it was all Zverev after that as he won the next five in a row.

Shelton then served to love to pull a game back, but he only delayed the German taking the first set, though he had to hold off a break point to do it.

The second followed the exact same pattern, but Zverev had to call for the doctor while 2-1 up as he appeared to be struggling with his breathing.

He overcame the issue and continued to impress on serve, winning 81% of first-serve points, and booked his place in the final four after converting his second match point.

"Right now, I'm not feeling too great… I'm not sure what happened," Zverev said after the match.

"I came out and probably felt the best I've felt in a few months. Was feeling the ball incredibly well from both sides.

"In the first set, I started feeling not so great, and it got progressively worse. But I'm in the semi-finals, and I'll do everything I can to be 100% [on Saturday]."

Data Debrief: Can Zverev end recent Cincinnati semi-final hoodoo?

Zverev has won 16 of his last 18 matches in Cincinnati, which included a run to the title in 2021.

However, his two defeats during that run have both come in the final four, losing to eventual champions both times in Novak Djokovic (2023) and Jannik Sinner (2024).

He has now reached the semi-finals at consecutive ATP Masters 1000 events for the first time since sustaining his ankle injury at Roland-Garros in 2022 (Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome 2022).