A late-night session on Diamond Court wrapped up Saturday action at the China Open with a blockbuster courtesy of World No. 10 Alexander Zverev and Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
The three-set marathon clash saw Zverev battling from a set down for the second consecutive time in Beijing, regrouping to earn a 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-1 victory after two hours and 35 minutes, progressing into his 10th quarterfinal this season.
In his on-court interview, the 26-year-old said he was happy with the win but let his frustration show when talking about his second-round match going almost until 3 a.m.
“I’m happy with the win. Obviously, it’s difficult to play until 3 a.m. I’m not sure it was the right call to keep us on this court,” he asserted.
Adding: “I think we should’ve changed courts. We should’ve gone on. There are so many great courts in the stadium. So many opportunities where we could’ve played. I’m not sure we should’ve waited until past midnight to start the match, to be honest.”
Furthermore, he assessed his performance, outlining: “I feel like I picked up my game a lot. I played a lot of tennis the past two weeks. I just need to recover; I need to rest.”
The German, who has been on a comeback trail from injury, arrived in Beijing on a high.
Last Tuesday, he outlasted unseeded Roman Safiullin 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-3 after three hours to claim his 21st career title on tour in Chengdu.
On Friday, he launched his campaign at the China Open against Argentine Diego Schwartzman, prevailing over the former top 10 with a 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-1 victory.
World No. 25 Davidovich Fokina made a solid start to the opener, taking a massive 74-minute first set 7-6(4).
In the second set, the Hamburg champion raised his level behind his serve, breaking his opponent twice en route to close out 6-2.
With the wind in his sails, he raced past the Spaniard in a third set he took 6-1.
On Monday, he will face Chilean player Nicolas Jarry, who edged Italian Matteo Arnaldi 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 6-3 earlier on Saturday.
In the second set, the World No. 23 saved three consecutive match points, charging at the net with precision to topple his adversary, producing a comeback performance.
In his opening round at the ATP 500 event, in-form Jarry stunned fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4.
Zverev leads Jarry 3-2 in their series, having met for the last time in Halle at the Terra Wortmann Open quarterfinals, a match the Hamburg-born won in straight sets last June.
Meanwhile, second seed Daniil Medvedev continues his run of form in the year of his debut at the tournament, clinching his 40th hard-court triumph this season over the relentless Australian Alex de Minaur.
The Moscow native sealed the match 7-6(3), 6-3 to set a meeting in the last eight with Frenchman Ugo Humbert, who shocked fifth seed Andrey Rublev 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(3).
After the intense clash, Medvedev stated: “Alex has this ability, everyone knows it, that when he is down, he starts to play better. That’s what happened today.
“First set, I didn’t manage to count him down, as he was playing better because he was down. [The] second set I managed to play just unbelievable.
“It’s crazy how every time he is down in a match, you know he is going to start playing like he is No. 1 in the world. Tough to play against him, a tough victory, but I am happy with my level.”
Humbert leads the world number three 2-0 in their series; on Monday, they will play one another for the first time this season.