Zverev overpowers Tiafoe to advance to BNP Paribas Open quarterfinals

Alexander Zverev will have a chance to reach a stage he’s never been to before — the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open — after the German overpowered American Frances Tiafoe in the tournament’s round of 16.

Zverev, the fourth-seeded player in the tournament, defeated Tiafoe in a competitive match Tuesday, winning 6-3, 6-4. The victory marked the ninth time that Zverev has beaten Tiafoe in 10 career matches.

The match in Stadium 1 remained close throughout its two sets, but Zverev repeatedly got Tiafoe in defense mode by using his strong serve, which topped 130 mph several times and reached a maximum of 137 mph. Zverev scored 14 aces in the match to Tiafoe’s six.

“I felt like I was in control of the match, from the baseline especially,” Zverev said in his post-match interview. “I felt like I was the one that was kind of dictating points and making points the way I wanted to play them.”

Zverev got the upper hand when he won a break point in the first set with a lunging forehand that sliced the ball back across the court. Tiafoe, the tournament’s 21st seed and a fan favorite, had a couple of break opportunities throughout the match, but was unable to turn the momentum.

The match, which lasted about an hour and a half, saw Zverev advance to the tournament’s quarterfinals, matching his best performance at the BNP Paribas Open. Currently, the BNP Paribas Open is the only of the nine Masters 1000 events in which Zverev hasn’t reached at least the semifinals. Zverev has also made the finals at three of the four Grand Slam tournaments, losing in all three matches.

Meanwhile, Tiafoe wasn’t able to recreate the magic of the 2023 tournament, where he reached the semifinal before falling to Russian Daniil Medvedev.

Zverev will play Arthur Fils, the 30th-seeded Frenchman, in the quarterfinal round slated for Thursday, March 12. With temperatures expected to reach well into the 90s by Thursday, Zverev noted he’s only played day sessions at the tournament so far and got used to the day sessions.

“I think this tournament is probably the biggest difference between night and day sessions that there is,” Zverev said in his post-match press conference. “If I play in the day (Thursday), I’m fine with that.”

In the meantime, Zverev is finding ways to enjoy the desert on his off days, saying that he and top-seed Carlos Alcaraz recently played a round of golf in the area with Novak Djokovic.

“Me and Carlos play every day almost actually,” Zverev said. “Novak joined us two days ago. It was fun. Me and Carlos are very competitive.”

Tom Coulter is a reporter for The Desert Sun. Reach him at thomas.coulter@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Zverev overpowers Tiafoe to advance to quarterfinals at Indian Wells