Zverev saves match points to set up Sinner semifinal at Paris Masters

PARIS (AP) — Alexander Zverev saved two match points to overcame Daniil Medvedev 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) and keep alive his Paris Masters title defense on Friday.

Zverev ended a five-match, two-year losing streak against Medvedev.

No. 3-ranked Zverev will play No. 2 Jannik Sinner in the semifinals. They just met in the Vienna final last weekend when Sinner won 7-5 in the third. Their head to head is at 4-4.

Zverev saved both match points against Medvedev on serve at 4-5 in the deciding set. Medvedev, who beat Zverev in the 2020 Paris final, rallied in the tiebreaker to 5-5 but Zverev pulled away again to win after 2 1/2 hours.

“Daniil is kind of my kryptonite, I don't like playing him,” Zverev said in his on-court interview. “He's somebody who has had my number for the last couple of years. I'm very pleased with the win for sure. Against Jannik, we had a fantastic match last Sunday. I'm happy to be on court with him again. Hopefully we share another great match.”

Sinner dismissed No. 7 Ben Shelton 6-3, 6-3 to reach the Paris semifinals for the first time and move closer to regaining the No. 1 ranking.

Sinner's seventh straight win over the American also extended his indoor winning streak to 24 matches dating to November 2023.

If Sinner takes the Paris title, what would be his first Masters trophy of the year, he will return to No. 1 on Monday.

Felix Auger-Aliassime ended wild card Valentin Vacherot’s impressive run in Paris by 6-2, 6-2 in their quarterfinal.

Vacherot had won his previous 10 Masters matches — including his first title in Shanghai this month — but Auger-Aliassime proved too strong for the Monegasque player as he advanced to his fourth Masters semifinal.

“He is so confident and you are kind of scared to be honest,” Auger-Aliassime said. “You are not sure if he has got some magic right now that nobody else has. I had to be so focused from the start and this level of intensity ... helped ease me into the match.”

Auger-Aliassime has reached 10 tour semifinals this season, second only to Carlos Alcaraz, and gone on to win titles in Adelaide, Montpellier and Brussels.

The Canadian will face Alexander Bublik after the Kazakh ousted sixth-seeded Alex de Minaur 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-5 without dropping serve.

Bublik has won 30 of 37 matches since the French Open and four titles, and he's the first Kazakh to reach a Masters semifinal.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Russia's Daniil Medvedev hellps Germany's Alexander Zverev during a quarterfinal match of the Paris Masters tennis tournament in Paris, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025.((AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik celebrates after winning a quarterfinal match of the Paris Masters tennis tournament against Australia's Alex de Minaur in Paris, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Italy's Jannik Sinner returns to Ben Shelton of the United States during a quarterfinal match of the Paris Masters tennis tournament in Paris, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025.((AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime returns to Monaco's Valentin Vacherot during their quarterfinal match of the Paris Masters tennis tournament in Paris, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Monaco's Valentin Vacherot returns to Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime during their quarterfinal match of the Paris Masters tennis tournament in Paris, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime runs during quarterfinal match of the Paris Masters tennis tournament against Monaco's Valentin Vacherot in Paris, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime reacts after winning quarterfinal match of the Paris Masters tennis tournament against Monaco's Valentin Vacherot in Paris, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Monaco's Valentin Vacherot reacts during quarterfinal match of the Paris Masters tennis tournament against Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in Paris, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump drew applause Tuesday night as he attended the opening of the musical “Chicago” at the Kennedy Center for what could be one of his last visits there for a show before he closes the performing arts institution for a two-year renovation in July.

Trump made the short trip from the White House just after signing an executive order to create a nationwide list of verified eligible voters and to restrict mail-in voting, a move that drew swift legal threats from state Democratic officials.

The president watched the performance alongside his wife, first lady Melania Trump. As the couple entered, some in the crowd booed, but they were drowned out by even louder cheers from the rest of the crowd.

It was the Trumps' first time together at the Kennedy Center since the premiere of the documentary “Melania” in January. The Republican president also attended the opening-night performance of “Les Misérables” last summer, where he was both booed and cheered.

Some of those arriving for the show before Trump didn't know he was planning to be there, despite the extra layers of security. Others said they got a voicemail or email about a special guest being in attendance, but were still surprised to learn it was Trump.

Bobi Jo Swartz, 38, an EMT and paramedic firefighter from the Harpers Ferry area in West Virginia, said she was “definitely shocked” to pull up and see security that included bomb-sniffing dogs checking vehicles. But she also said she “kind of figured” it was either Trump or Vice President JD Vance seeing the show.

“I love it," Swartz said. "I'm glad that he's a part of it.”

“Chicago,” a scathing satire set in the 1920s about how show business and the media make celebrities out of criminals, will run at the Kennedy Center Opera House through April 5. The center will award the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor to comedian Bill Maher on June 28, an event Trump could also attend.

Since returning to office in January 2025, the Republican president has wielded tremendous influence over the venue, ousting its previous leadership and replacing it with a handpicked board of trustees that named him chairman.

The board added Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center and approved the two-year closure, which followed a wave of cancellations by leading performers, musicians and groups upset that Trump had taken over the storied institution. Both the name change and the planned closure have prompted legal proceedings that are ongoing.

Swartz said she wasn't aware that the center would soon be closing, but called the prospect of remodeling “awesome.”

“Good for them,” she said.

Presidents are known for their ability to multitask, but Trump's attendance at Tuesday's opening night show comes after the White House suggested that the war in Iran and other major matters kept him from attending the Conservative Political Action Conference in suburban Dallas over the weekend.

Trump was a fixture at past CPAC gatherings, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said he still “loves” the event and “has a very good relationship with the great people who run it.”

“It was just simply for scheduling purposes this year, with it being in Texas, it was best for the president’s schedule and what he has on his plate right now not to go," she said during her briefing with reporters on Monday.

Trump instead spent the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and went to his golf club on Saturday and Sunday.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive to attend the opening nights of the musical "Chicago" at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive to attend the opening nights of the musical "Chicago" at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive to attend the opening nights of the musical "Chicago" at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)