THERE was some magnificent semi-final action in Cologne and Antwerp overnight, and the results set up two fascinating finals for tomorrow.

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In Cologne, world number seven Alexander Zverev reached his second consecutive final with a 7-6 6-3 victory over Italian Jannik Sinner. Zverev won the bett1HULKS indoors title last week and came into the match with plenty of confidence, but Sinner loomed as a difficult matchup since he defeated Zverev at Roland Garros in four sets earlier this month. Zverev’s serving prowess proved too much for Sinner in this contest though, particularly in the second set.

After coming from 4-1 down to claim the first set in a tie break, Zverev won 82 per cent of his first serve points in the second and closed out the contest in just under two hours. Zverev credited his 19-year-old opponent, who was aiming to reach his first career ATP Tour final. “[Sinner] is an up and coming superstar, I think he is going to be top ten very shortly,” Zverev said. “I think he is going to be competing for the biggest tournaments in the world.”

Tomorrow will mark Zverev’s 21st ATP final. He will face Argentine Diego Schwartzman, who got the better of Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4 5-7 6-4 in the other semi-final. Schwartzman has had a fantastic season, becoming a top ten player for the first time and now making three 2020 ATP Tour finals. He enters this final with a 2-1 record against Zverev, so he should be confident despite the German’s strong form over the past two weeks.

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In Antwerp, eighth-seeded Australian Alex de Minaur outlasted Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 6-7 6-4 to book his spot in the European Open final. As the scoreline suggests, it was a very even contest for most of the match but de Minaur was slightly better on serve in the deciding set. After breaking Dimitrov at 4-4, he held his nerve when serving for the match.

The 21-year-old will face Frenchman Ugo Humbert in the final, who saved four match points on his way to defeating Daniel Evans 4-6 7-6 6-4. Humbert recovered from 3-6 and 6-7 down in the second set tiebreak with some brilliant aggressive play on the forehand side.

After the match, Humbert explained that mental toughness played a major role in his triumph. “The start of the match wasn’t easy as he didn’t give me much pace and suddenly he accelerated,” Humbert said. “I need to find a solution and came to the net more. I was four match points down, but I was mentally strong and I took my opportunities. I remained aggressive and when I won the second set, I knew I’d regained the momentum.”

Humbert and de Minaur have never competed against each other before, so preparation could play a major role in the decider.

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