Alexander Zverev believes that Quentin Halys has one of the top five best serves in tennis right now following their gruelling Shanghai Open encounter.

US Open champion Zverev spurned two match points in the second-set tiebreak against the Frenchman but eventually prevailed 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-3 for his 60th tour-level victory of the season.

This was the fourth time the two 29-year-olds have met this year, with the German coming out on top in every single one of them.

However, the world No 45 has always run Zverev close, with Halys taking the French Open winner to five sets at the US Open last month, and they played out a four-setter at Roland Garros, too.

Following his third-round win, Zverev was quick to praise Halys, saying for his 6ft 3in frame, there may be nobody better when it comes to serving. World No 1 Jannik Sinner is the same height but Zverev did not appear to know that.

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Zverev told Tennis TV after the match, “He [Halys] played unbelievably aggressive. He serves incredible. I mean, for his height, probably the best serve in men’s tennis right now.

“I think Sinner is a bit taller than him, right? Maybe a little bit. He can change up the ball toss so much but he can still hit every single spot, so you never know what to do.

“You can’t really guess or read the serve, and that’s what makes it difficult. And his first forehand after the serve is unbelievable. Credit to him, he’s been playing amazing tennis and rising up the rankings this year. I hope to see him as a seed the next years because I don’t want to play him in the second round anymore.”

According to the ATP’s Serve Leaders, Sinner is the best server on tour for the last 52 weeks when you aggregate first serve percentage, percentage of serve points won, percentage of service games won, and average aces and double faults per match.

The Italian’s serve rating stands at 306.6, whereas 6ft 6in Zverev is second on 301.4 and 6ft 4in Ben Shelton is third on 299.4.

In regards to players who are 6ft 3in and under, Brandon Nakashima (289.1), Novak Djokovic (288.9), and Jiri Lehecka (288.9) make up the last three top 10 spots on the serving charts.

Carlos Alcaraz is 15th on 285, and Arthur Fils, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and Casper Ruud are all in the top 20, and are 6ft 1in and under, before Halys ranks down in 24th with 280.1.

However, for percentage of first serve points won, Sinner is first (81.1%) and Halys is fourth (78.5%). The French star is seventh for average aces per match (11), while Sinner is down in 18th (8.8).

In his post-match press conference, Zverev added, “On a hard court, for me he’s one of the best servers in the world because he can hide his serve so well with his ball toss. He can do so many things with the serve.

“So, his serve and plus one is probably top five in the world. So credit to him, he’s playing amazing tennis, and made it difficult for me again.”

Ergo, Zverev’s claim about Halys is not completely unfounded.

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