Alexander Zverev cruises past Ben Shelton to set up semifinal showdown with Carlos Alcaraz at Cincinnati Open

The highly-anticipated quarterfinal bout between Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton did not live up to expectations, as the German superstar recorded a comfortable victory over his American opponent at the 2025 Cincinnati Open.

Zverev required just 77 minutes to prevail in a 6-2 6-2 victory, winning 81% of is first serves and saving the only break point faced. Despite Shelton's 12 aces, the fifth seed was unable to build any momentum as he was outplayed by his German opponent.

The duo coincidentally clashed at the quarterfinal stage of last year's Cincinnati event, with Zverev prevailing in three sets. However, Shelton was unable to make this match more competitive, as the American could only win four of 19 points behind his second serve, which proved to be detrimental.

In addition to breaking Shelton's nine-match winning streak after the 22-year old won the title in Toronto last week, Zverev now improves to 4-0 in career meetings against the rising American star.

The left-handed phenom was full of confidence after winning the biggest title of his career in Toronto a few days ago. Currently ranked at World No.6 in the ATP Rankings, Shelton was on the verge of a top 5 breakthrough were he to advance to the semifinals.

However, Zverev proved to be too much for the fifth seed, racing to a 5-1 lead in the opening set before Shelton was able to salvage another game. After claiming the first set, both men seemed to be on level terms at 1-1 in the second set. Unfortunately for the American, Zverev proved to be too precise and dangerous from the baseline, quickly breaking his opponent twice before serving out the match.

Zverev will face familiar foe Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals, after the Spanish phenom defeated Russian Andrey Rublev in three sets earlier in the day. This will be Zverev's thrid straight semifinal appearance in Cincinnati, as the former World No.2 lost to eventual champions Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner in 2023 and 2024 respectively.