HALLE, Germany (AP) — Zhang Zhizhen recorded his third career victory over a top-10 opponent when he upset third-seeded Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (5) at the grass-court Halle Open on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old Zhang, who is ranked No. 42, trailed 3-5 in the third-set tiebreaker before winning four straight points against the fifth-ranked Medvedev.
Zhang is the first Chinese player to reach the Halle quarterfinals. He hadn't beaten a top-10 opponent since defeating then-No. 5 Casper Ruud at last year's U.S. Open.
Also Wednesday, second-seeded Alexander Zverev beat Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 7-6 (5). Zverev, a German who is ranked No. 4, improved to 4-0 against Sonego. Zverev is a two-time finalist at Halle.
Earlier, Jan-Lennard Struff overcame a strong challenge from grass-court debutant Luciano Darderi, who saved nine match points before bowing out.
Struff, who hit 21 aces, was a break down in the decider but rallied past his rival 6-7 (2), 7-5, 7-6 (10) after fending off a match point in the final tiebreaker.
Struff, who needed 2 hours and 31 minutes to prevail, will next take on Stefanos Tsitsipas.
It was Darderi’s first grass-court match on the ATP Tour. Darderi grabbed the spotlight in February when he won the title in Cordoba as a qualifier. He is now ranked 34th.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
The Associated Press
