Washington: Alexander Zverev got the better of older brother Mischa at the Citi Open tennis tournament here Thursday, winning their first meeting at an ATP Tour event 6-3, 7-5.
World No.3 and top seed Alexander, 21, broke Mischa, 30, three times en route to a victory to set up a quarterfinal with seventh seed Kei Nishikori, who dispatched Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov 7-6(7-1), 6-3.
Despite the loss, Mischa said it was a match he would always remember. “After the coin toss I had tears in my eyes because it felt so special,” he said.
The younger Zverev said he hoped to see his brother across the net again in the future. “I hope this is not the last time. I hope we play a final one day,” said Alexander, the tournament’s defending champion.
Scot Andy Murray broke down in tears after coming from behind to defeat Marius Copil 6-7(5-7), 6-3, 7-6(7-4) in a marathon third round match that lasted more than three hours. An exhausted Murray, slammed the organisers for poor scheduling. “Finishing matches at 3am in the morning is not good for players,” Murray said.
Murray, the former World No.1, overcame 20 aces by Copil to advance to the quarter-finals, where he will face Australian Alex de Minaur who beat Chung Hyeon, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
Second seed John Isner however, was stunned by fellow American Noah Rubin 4-6, 6-7(6-8).
Easy for DelPo
Meanwhile at Los Cabos, Mexico top-seeded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina breezed into the Mifel Open semifinals Thursday night, beating Egor Gerasimov of Belarus 6-1, 6-1.
Second-seeded Fabio Fognini of Italy will play British left-hander Cameron Norrie in the semifinals. Fognini beat Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2, 6-2, and Norrie topped fourth-seeded Adrian Mannarino of France 6-4, 6-4.