Alexander Zverev reached the Paris Masters final for the second time after beating former champion Holger Rune 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) on Saturday. In the other semi-final, Ugo Humbert rallied from a set down to get the better of Karen Khachanov 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 6-3.

Rune saved one match point with a brilliant cross-court forehand winner, but the third-seeded Zverev held his nerve on the next with a crisp backhand volley at the net.

Zverev was mostly in control against Rune in their fourth career meeting and first on indoor hard courts. The French Open runner-up improved to 3-1 overall against his rival, who won the Paris Masters in 2022 by stunning Novak Djokovic in the final.

The big-serving German is bidding for his second title of the year and 23rd overall.

Bopanna falters

Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden made a quarter-final exit after suffering a hard-fought defeat in the men’s doubles contest here.

The third seeded Indo-Australian duo toiled for one hour 46 minutes before going down 6-7, 5-7 to the Dutch-Croatian combo of Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic at the ATP 1000 event on Friday.

Earlier this week, Bopanna and Ebden had clinched a spot in the prestigious season-ending ATP Finals.