Tennis-Fritz rallies past Zverev to set up all-American Halle final with Tiafoe

Alexander Zverev's 10-match winning streak was snapped by Taylor Fritz in the Halle Open semi-finals, with Fritz advancing to the final against Frances Tiafoe.

French Open champion ​Alexander Zverev's run at the Halle ​Open was cut short after ‌he was ​beaten 6-7(4) 6-4 7-5 by Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals on Saturday, while Frances Tiafoe cruised past Daniel Altmaier ‌to set up an all-American final.

The third-ranked German, a finalist at Halle in 2016 and 2017, entered the match with a poor recent record against Fritz, having lost his ‌previous six meetings with the American. He made a strong start, securing an early break, ‌but Fritz responded to force a tiebreak, which Zverev won.

Fritz hit back in the second set, turning the momentum decisively in his favour by winning 12 consecutive points and levelling the match. In ⁠the decider, ​both players were ⁠locked in a tense battle before Fritz produced a late break to seal victory and book his ⁠place in the final. The 28-year-old struck 19 aces and won 87% of his first-serve points to ​snap Zverev’s 10-match winning streak.

"I felt like I played a good tiebreak (in the ⁠first set) and I felt I got a little unlucky with some bounce and he played some ⁠really ​good points and took one on my serve and that was it," Fritz said. "I felt like he was struggling with something. I am not sure what it ⁠was. I felt like I felt better than he did so that was what ⁠I needed to ⁠tell myself to go to work."

Tiafoe dispatched Germany’s Altmaier with ease, breezing through the opening set before sealing a 6-1 6-3 victory.