Zverev moves closer to breaking grass-court hoodoo
Alexander Zverev remains on course to secure a first grass court title after defeating Ben Shelton in a tight semi-final contest at the Stuttgart Open.
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The German, who is the No.1 seed at his home tournament, needed two tiebreaks to get past the American, winning 7-6 (10-8) 7-6 (7-1) in a match that was dominated by both men's serves and lasted two hours.
Zverev fired 36 winners past Shelton and didn't face a break point on route to victory, and will be looking to break his duck on the grass after losing two previous finals on this surface in Halle in 2016 and 2017.
“I’m super happy to be in the final, it’s my first grass-court final since 2017,” Zverev said.
“It’s been eight years. I actually really like playing on the surface. I’m happy to be in the final in Germany again, I’m looking forward to it.”
Zverev has had a disappointing year in the bigger tournaments since losing the Australian Open final at the beginning of 2025.
He went out in the opening round at Indian Wells and Monte-Carlo, but responded by claiming his first title of the season in Munich.
Ranked No.3 in the world, Zverev will face another American in the final in the shape of No.2 seed Taylor Fritz, who beat Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in their semi-final 6-4, 7-6(7-5).
