MELBOURNE, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Alexander Zverev advanced to the Australian Open semifinals for the third time after overcoming Tommy Paul in four sets.

The second-seeded Zverev defeated the 12th-seeded American 7-6 (1), 7-6 (0), 2-6, 6-1 in three hours and 28 minutes at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.

World No. 2 Zverev, who is chasing his first Grand Slam title in Melbourne, trailed by a break in both of the first two sets and saved a set point in each before forcing tiebreaks.

In those tiebreaks, Zverev was nearly flawless, dropping only one point to seize command of the match.

"To be honest, I should have been down two sets to love. He played better than me, I was not playing great and I thought he was. I somehow won the first set, somehow won the second set and I'm up two sets to love all of a sudden," Zverev said after the match.

"The fourth set was definitely the best that I've played and I'm obviously extremely happy to be back in the semifinals."

After squandering opportunities in the first two sets, Paul broke serve twice in the third for a 5-2 lead and closed it out with a love service game. However, his comeback proved short-lived, as Zverev benefited from spending nearly two hours less on court through the earlier rounds. The German dominated the fourth set, sealing victory with an ace on his third match point on a hot day in Melbourne.

Zverev will face the winner of Tuesday night's quarterfinal between third seed Carlos Alcaraz and 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.

The 27-year-old German also made the semifinals at Melbourne Park in 2020 and 2024, losing on both occasions despite winning the first set against Dominic Thiem in 2020 and the first two sets against Daniil Medvedev in 2024. ■