"I was tactically stupid at the beginning," says Zverev after his suspenseful victory over Medvedev in Paris

Off to a bad start in his quarter-final against Daniil Medvedev in Paris, the defending champion Alexander Zverev ultimately prevailed after saving two match points.

Zverev can still dream of a double at the Rolex Paris Masters. Crowned champion last year at the final Bercy edition, the German was close to being shown the door on Friday evening against Daniil Medvedev.

In this ATP Tour classic, as the two men faced each other for the 22nd time (14-7 for the Russian before the match), the world number 3, who was off his game in the first set, eventually won after saving two match points (2-6, 6-3, 7-6 in 2h30).

Zverev will face Jannik Sinner for a spot in the final, but first reacted to his victory against one of his great rivals, whom he hadn't beaten since the 2023 Cincinnati Masters 1000.

"Even at the beginning, I felt I was playing well, but I was tactically stupid. I felt my shots and I had the feeling I could turn the situation around. In my opinion, I didn't play intelligently in the first set.

I changed a few things tactically, I managed to break in the second set and from there, the match changed complexion quite quickly. The thing I'm most proud of is how I managed to stay brave, especially when I had to save the two match points.

As I said yesterday, Daniil (Medvedev) is a kind of bogeyman for me, I don't like facing him. He's someone who has given me a hard time these last two years. I'm really very happy with this victory.

With Jannik (Sinner), we played a very high-level match last week. I'm just happy to share the court with him tomorrow (Saturday) and I hope we can play another great match," Zverev told the official ATP website.