Zverev holds off Sonego to reach Halle quarter-finals
The 28-year-old German won 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) against the 46th-ranked Sonego and next plays another Italian, Flavio Cobolli for a place in the semi-finals.
A finalist in Halle in 2016 and 2017, Zverev recorded his fifth victory in as many meetings with Sonego, a year after beating him at the same stage of the same competition.
Sonego took advantage of his only chance to break in the first set at 4-3. The German struggled throughout to break his opponent's serve.
However, Zverev dug deep in the second set, leading 5-4, to win the set before dominating the tiebreak in the final set.
World number one Jannik Sinner, the French Open finalist, faces Kazakh Alexander Bublik in the second round later Thursday two weeks after losing just six games to the Italian in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros.
The winner will play Tomas Machac in the quarter-finals after the Czech defeated Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 6-2, 6-3 earlier in the day.
Argentina's 63rd ranked Tomas Martin Etcheverry also reached the quarter-finals after a three-hour duel against fourth seed Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (8/6).
The Argentine saved two match points in the tiebreak of the deciding set to set up a meeting with Russia's Karen Khachanov.
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