Alexander Zverev beats Tommy Paul to reach his third Australian Open semifinal

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Alexander Zverev reached his third Australian Open semifinal with a 7-6 (1), 7-6 (0), 2-6, 6-1 win over 12th-seeded Tommy Paul of the United States on Tuesday.

The No. 2-ranked Zverev had to save a set point in each of the first two sets but then dominated both tiebreakers.

Zverev is a two-time Grand Slam runner-up. He never has made it that far in Australia.

The German next plays the winner of a quarterfinal later Tuesday that he described as a “clash of generations” between 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, who is 37, and four-time major winner Carlos Alcaraz, 21.

Zverev needed three match points — one on Paul's serve, and two more on his own — to clinch the victory, which he closed with an ace.

Paul was a semifinalist in Melbourne in 2023 and had won both of his previous matches against Zverev, but this was their first Grand Slam meeting.

“To be honest, I should have been down two sets to love. He played better than me," Zverev said. "I was not playing great, and I thought he was. I somehow won the first set, somehow won the second set I’m in the semifinals, somehow.”

He called the Djokovic-Alcaraz quarterfinal “probably the highlight match of the whole tournament.”

“Two of the best players that probably ever touched a tennis racket," Zverev said. "It’s a clash of generations.”

Alexander Zverev of Germany gestures as he talks to his support staff in the coaches box during his quarterfinal match against Tommy Paul of the U.S. at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Alexander Zverev of Germany reacts during his quarterfinal match against Tommy Paul of the U.S. at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Tommy Paul of the U.S. plays a backhand return to Alexander Zverev of Germany during their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Tommy Paul of the U.S. plays a backhand return to Alexander Zverev of Germany during their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Alexander Zverev of Germany reacts as he holds a feather during his quarterfinal match against Tommy Paul of the U.S. during their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Alexander Zverev of Germany plays a forehand return to Tommy Paul of the U.S. during their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — In the aftermath of a fire inside a Swiss Alpine bar that killed 40 people celebrating the new year, survivors, friends and family members, the region’s top authorities and even Pope Leo have spoken to the public in remarks in French, Italian, German and English, reflecting the tradition of Swiss multilingualism.

Another 119 people were injured in the blaze early Thursday as it ripped through the busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana, authorities said. It was one of the deadliest tragedies in Switzerland’s history.

Investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar.

Here’s a look at what people said in the wake of the disaster:

— “I’m looking everywhere. The body of my son is somewhere,” Laetitia Brodard told reporters Friday in Crans-Montana as she searched for her son, 16-year-old Arthur. “I want to know, where is my child, and be by his side. Wherever that may be, be it in the intensive care unit or the morgue.”

— “We were bringing people out, people were collapsing. We were doing everything we could to save them, we helped as many as we could. We saw people screaming, running,” Marc-Antoine Chavanon, 14, told The Associated Press in Crans-Montana on Friday, recounting how he rushed to the bar to help the injured. “There was one of our friends: She was struggling to get out, she was all burned. You can’t imagine the pain I saw.”

— “It was hard to live through for everyone. Also probably because everyone was asking themselves, ‘Was my child, my cousin, someone from the region at this party?’” Eric Bonvin, general director of the regional hospital in Sion that took in dozens of injured people, told AP on Friday. “This place was very well known as somewhere to celebrate the new year,” Bonvin said. “Also, seeing young people arrive — that’s always traumatic.”

— “I have seen horror, and I don’t know what else would be worse than this,” Gianni Campolo, a Swiss 19-year-old who was in Crans-Montana on vacation and rushed to the bar to help first responders, told France's TF1 television.

—“You will understand that the priority today is truly placed on identification, in order to allow the families to begin their mourning,” Beatrice Pilloud, the Valais region's attorney general, told reporters Friday during a news conference in Sion.

Pope Leo said in a telegram Friday to the bishop of Sion that he " wishes to express his compassion and concern to the relatives of the victims. He prays that the Lord will welcome the deceased into His abode of peace and light, and will sustain the courage of those who suffer in their hearts or in their bodies.”

— “We have numerous accounts of heroic actions, one could say of very strong solidarity in the moment,” Cantonal head of government Mathias Reynard told RTS radio Friday. "In the first minutes it was citizens — and in large part young people — who saved lives with their courage.”

— “Switzerland is a strong country not because it is sheltered from drama, but because it knows how to face them with courage and a spirit of mutual help," Swiss President Guy Parmelin, speaking on his first day in the position that changes hands annually, told reporters Thursday.

People bring flowers near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)

A woman holding a stuffed animal, whose daughter is missing, gather with others near the sealed-off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

People light candles near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)