Zverev, Bautista Agut toil to reach Cologne Indoors semis

Top-seeded Alexander Zverev was taken the distance by Lloyd Harris but recovered to end the match with a bagel to move into the Cologne semis on Friday.

Top-seeded Alexander Zverev advanced to the Cologne Indoors semifinals by beating Lloyd Harris and inched closer to his first title of the year and his third in native Germany.

Top-seeded Alexander Zverev advanced to the Cologne Indoors semifinals by beating Lloyd Harris of South Africa 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 on Friday.

Zverev was leading 6-4, 1-0 but dropped two of his four service games as Harris forced the third set. He rebounded as Harris struggled with a leg injury and he closed out the match in 1 hour, 46 minutes.

The seventh-ranked Zverev next faces Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The Spaniard defeated Dennis Novak 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. Zverev is looking for his first title of the year and his third in his native Germany following victories at the clay-court Munich tournament in 2017 and 2018.

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It's his first appearance in Germany since playing in Hamburg last year. The second-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut will meet Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in the other semifinal.

Bautista Agut prevailed over 2 1/2 hours to beat Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-0, and Auger-Aliassime had fewer difficulties against Radu Albot, winning 6-3, 6-0.