Cologne Championship: Zverev advances to quarter-finals after beating Millman; Auger-Aliassime beats Gerasimov

Fresh from winning the ATP tournament in Cologne last weekend, Germany’s Alexander Zverev reached the quarter-finals of the second week on the Rhine with a tough, three-set triumph over John Millman of Australia on Wednesday. Zverev, 23, ranked seventh in the world, needed nearly two hours to post a 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 victory over the 31-year-old Millman. “In the first set I thought I played flawlessly, but then I wasn’t focused at the beginning of the second,” Zverev admitted. “John is someone who has beaten top players before, I thought I did a poor job serving, but got the win somehow.” The German top seed will meet France’s Adrian Mannarino in Friday’s quarter-finals. On Thursday, Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, who saw off Britain’s Kyle Edmund on Tuesday, will play Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff for a last-eight place. Seventh-seed Struff beat Italy’s Marco Cecchinato 6-3, 6-1 in the first round. Cologne’s Lanxess Arena is hosting back-to-back ATP events. Zverev defeated Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime last weekend in the final of the first event. The 20-year-old Canadian, whose defeat to Zverev was his sixth straight defeat in an ATP final, recovered from losing the first set to seal a 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/4) second-round win over Egor Gerasimov of Belarus late on Wednesday.