Alexander Zverev sweeps aside Holger Rune to return to final

Third seed Alexander Zverev produced a near-flawless display to outclass former champion Holger Rune 6-3 7-6(4) and return to the Paris Masters final after a gap of four years. The 27-year-old Zverev, who is aiming to leapfrog Carlos Alcaraz into second in the world rankings ahead of this month’s season finale in Turin, will next face local hope Ugo Humbert, who edged out 2018 champion Karen Khachanov 6-7(6) 6-4 6-3 in the other semifinal.

Sustained pressure from the baseline helped Zverev to grab the early break for a 3-1 lead in the contest but the German had to work a lot harder in the fifth game before unleashing a couple of booming serves to consolidate it. The Roland Garros runner-up shrugged off a late double fault to wrap up the opening set on the back of 11 winners.