Tennis in Stuttgart: Engel loses, Zverev in the semifinals

After his disappointing French Open in Stuttgart, Alexander Zverev has a chance of reaching the final. Thanks to a 7-5, 6-4 victory over American Brandon Nakashima, he advanced to the semifinals of the grass-court tournament, the Boss Open. After 90 minutes, the best German tennis player sealed his progress. On Saturday, the world number three will play against American Ben Shelton. "It was actually a good match for the second match on grass. The level was better today than yesterday," Zverev said. "I'm happy that I served the way I did."

In the afternoon heat, Zverev struggled for a long time in the first set. Early on, he raised his arms questioningly and shook his head. Only in the final spurt did he avoid the looming tiebreak. In the second set, he laid the foundation for his success with a break to lead 3-2. Zverev didn't drop his serve once throughout the entire match.

After his quarterfinal exit at the French Open in Paris against Serbian record Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic, Zverev had taken a few days off. He will compete at the Weissenhof in Stuttgart for the first time in six years. His goal is to prepare for Wimbledon, the grass-court classic, which begins on June 30.

Meanwhile, Justin Engel's winning streak has ended despite another impressive performance. After his previous coups, the 17-year-old had to admit defeat to top Canadian player Felix Auger-Aliassime 6:7 (3), 3:6 in the quarterfinals. "I take away that I can keep up with the top guys and that the hard training is paying off. Now I'm just going to keep going," said the Nuremberg native. He kept the duel with the former top 10 player close until the middle of the second set. Ultimately, the Canadian's serves were too strong. The teenager had previously celebrated two surprise victories against Australian qualifier James Duckworth and American world number 35 Alex Michelsen. This made him the youngest tour quarterfinalist on grass since Boris Becker's Wimbledon triumph 40 years ago.

Auger-Aliassime will play the second semi-final in Stuttgart against top-ten American player Taylor Fritz.