Alexander Zverev admits he had a ‘stupid’ tactic against Daniil Medvedev despite beating him in Paris

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Alexander Zverev finally snapped his losing streak against Daniil Medvedev at the Paris Masters.

After five straight defeats to him at tour-level events, Zverev overcame Medvedev to advance to the semifinals in the French capital, where he will take on Jannik Sinner.

The German conceded the first set, 6-2, in the quarterfinal, during which he suffered an injury scare after falling down and clutching his left leg.

Zverev continued, however, and fought his way back into the match by taking the second set 6-3 to force a decider.

He brought the third set to a tiebreak and clinched the shootout 7-5 to defeat Medvedev and reach the final four.

Following his triumph, the world number three provided a brutally honest assessment of his slow start in the match.

Alexander Zverev reacts to his win over Daniil Medvedev in Paris

In his on-court interview, Zverev admitted: “I felt like even at the beginning I was playing well, but playing stupid tactically.

“I felt really well with my shots and felt like I could turn the match around, but I was playing, in my opinion, very, very dumb.

“I changed a few things in my tactic and broke back. He helped me a bit with the break, and all of a sudden the match turned very, very quickly.

“The thing I am most pleased about is the match point saved and the way I continued being brave.”

Zverev had lost 13 of his previous 15 meetings with Medvedev and had fallen twice to him in 2025, despite the Russian’s poor form for most of the season.

“Daniil was my kryptonite,” said Zverev. “I don’t like playing him. He is someone who has had my number for the last couple of years. And I am very pleased with the win, for sure.

His next opponent, Sinner, has beaten him in their last three clashes, the most recent of which came in the Vienna Open final.

Ahead of the semifinal in Paris, Zverev said: “Against Jannik, we had a fantastic match last Sunday, so I am just happy to be on court with him again and hopefully share another great match.”

Alexander Zverev closing in on tennis legends in Masters feat

With his victory, Zverev has reached his 24th ATP Masters 1000 semifinal, and his tally is beginning to close in on some greats of the game.

Only Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras have made more final-four appearances at Masters events than him since the format’s introduction in 1990.

At the Paris Masters specifically, Zverev trails only Djokovic, Nadal and Boris Becker in semifinal appearances, with four.

Djokovic holds the record in Paris, having made the semifinals at the tournament nine times throughout his legendary career.