The world number three beat local hero Arthur Fils 6:4, 3:6, 6:3. The Hamburger, who now faces the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, further extended his record with his 63rd win this season.
“Many players have problems competing against a Frenchman in this atmosphere. I like that,” said Zverev, who also played against the spectators for more than two hours: “It’s clear to me that the hall is not full of German flags, “That’s normal. However, the fans were very respectful. I just love playing in Paris.”
Zverev initially had difficulty against Fils, against whom he lost the final at the home tournament at Rothenbaum in the summer. While the German often had to go over deuce in his service games, the world number 20 had fewer problems with his own service. But Zverev was there at the crucial moment; the break to 5:4 gave him the first set.
In the second round, Zverev missed a break point to make it 2-1 and in return lost his serve to make it 1-3 – it was the preliminary decision. In the last set, Zverev managed the break to make it 3-1 against the 20-year-old Fils, who had eliminated Jan-Lennard Struff from Warstein in two sets the day before. He didn’t let his lead be taken away from him.
