Alexander Zverev booked his place in the Paris Masters final by beating Holger Rune in straight sets, then admitted he aimed to find a way to beat Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

Zverev reached his first hard court final of the season with a 6-3, 7-6(4) victory over 2022 champion Rune in one hour and 47 minutes.

The German broke in the fourth game of the first set and saved two break points in the fifth before winning the first game. A break also seemed enough in the second, but the world number three failed to serve until the end of the match. leading 5-4.

However, he recovered to win the tiebreak and reach his second Paris Masters final after being beaten by Daniil Medvedev in the 2020 showpiece.

“I feel like I made it a little difficult for myself, but he’s a champion,” Zverev told the ATP website.

“It’s probably his favorite tournament and venue, but I’m happy to be in my second final here. I’m looking forward to it.

Zverev also admitted during his press conference that he is looking to make improvements to his game that he hopes will allow him to compete with Sinner and Alcaraz at the upcoming ATP Finals and ahead of 2025.

His run in Paris will see Zverev equal his career ranking of number 2 when the updated list is released on Monday, but he admits the ‘Big 2’ of Alcaraz and Sinner are a step ahead of him after sharing the four Grand Slams. between them this year.

“For me it’s about improving a few things,” Zverev said.

“I feel like, you know, Jannik and Carlos, you know, they’re doing some things better than me right now. I want to improve.

“I want to improve neither for tomorrow, nor for today or, you know, because of the matches I played here. I also want to improve overall for next year.

“That’s why I’m taking this as a lot of training here this week, and I also want to improve my game for next year.

“I think in tennis you always have to improve. If you stand still, you will go backwards because the other players are also improving.

“I feel like they are so aggressive. I think tennis is moving in this direction.

“I think when they get an easy ball, when they’re in an attacking position, 90 percent of the time the point is over, whether it’s a winner or an unforced error.

“It’s how hard they hit the ball, how aggressive they are. I think in this aspect I can improve. That’s what I’m trying to do.

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He then explained how Alcaraz and Sinner have improved their game in a detailed analysis of his two great rivals.

“Jannik has improved a lot this year,” he added. “There are some things that Carlos has also improved.

“I think Novak (Djokovic), over the last 15 or 20 years, has gotten better every year. If you ask him if he is a better tennis player last year, say 2023 or even 2022, or , you know, 10 years ago when he was younger, I think he would answer that he’s a better tennis player now, you know.

“I think it’s because everyone is trying to get better. If you don’t improve, you stay still. I still want to achieve my biggest goals. For that, I know I have to improve, because so far it hasn’t been good enough.

Zverev will face Ugo Humbert in the final after the Frenchman beat Karen Khachanov 6-7 (6) 6-4 6-3.

Humbert, who eliminated Carlos Alcaraz earlier in the tournament, became the fifth Frenchman to reach the final of the Paris Masters.

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