Zverev Rallies to Overcome Tabilo and Reach Italian Open Final

Former champion Alexander Zverev (27) overcame a disastrous start to defeat Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo (26) 1-6, 7-6(7-4), 6-2 on Friday, advancing to the Italian Open final.

The German third seed, who claimed the title in 2017 and was a finalist in 2018, appeared in serious trouble as the 29th-seeded Tabilo dominated the opening set.

Tabilo, who had upset world number one Novak Djokovic in the third round, was playing in his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final but showed no signs of nerves, breaking Zverev twice in the first set.

The Chilean won five consecutive games to take the opener, but the second set was much more competitive. Tabilo managed to force the only break point of the set, but Zverev held firm and eventually took the tiebreak.

Zverev elevated his performance in the deciding set, breaking twice and maintaining control as Tabilo’s resistance waned, securing his first final appearance of the year.

Zverev will face the winner of Friday’s second semi-final between American 14th seed Tommy Paul and another Chilean, 21st seed Nicolas Jarry.