Alexander Zverev outlasts Arthur Fils to reach Halle Open semifinals

HALLE, Germany (AP) — Alexander Zverev was hoping for shorter matches on grass. Think again.

The No. 4-ranked Zverev had to battle back to beat 20-year-old Arthur Fils 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 in 2 1/2 hours on Friday for a spot in the semifinals of the Halle Open.

Zverev, still in search of his first grass-court title, wanted to make quick work of opponents after some marathon sessions at the French Open, where he lost in five sets to Carlos Alcaraz in the final.

“After the French Open, I was hoping on grass I would play a bit quicker and not play for two-and-a-half, three hours every single match, but I'm continuing what I always do,” Zverev joked.

The second-seeded Zverev needed three sets to get past qualifier Oscar Otte in the first round then eliminated Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets.

Zverev, who has won 22 tour titles, next faces Hubert Hurkacz, who beat Marcos Giron 7-6 (5), 6-4.

In the other quarterfinals later Friday, No. 1 Jannik Sinner faced Jan-Lennard Struff before Zhang Zhizhen played Christopher Eubanks.

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

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) — Voters in the youthful democracy of Mongolia are electing a new parliament on Friday in the landlocked Asian democracy that is squeezed between China and Russia, two much larger authoritarian states.

At stake are 126 seats in an expanded parliament, 50 more than in the previous election in 2020. That contest was won by the Mongolian People's Party in a landslide. The ruling party still appears to hold the upper hand, but other parties may be able to capitalize on voter discontent to eat into its majority.

About two dozen voters lined up on a staircase heading down to a polling station in the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, some muttering complaints because it opened 10 minutes late. Some of the older voters, including community leaders, dressed up in formal silk robes sinched with large leather belts for the occasion.

Inside, voters sat to fill out their ballot and then put it into an electronic vote counting machine. An indelible mark was put on one of their fingers to prevent them from trying to vote again.

Many in the district, a “ger” area where people originally settled in nomadic tents, are supporters of the ruling Mongolian People's Party. But some younger voters expressed disappointment with the People's Party, and said they chose younger candidates that they hoped would bring change.

There are 2,198 polling stations spread out across the sparsely populated country, which is large geographically but has a population of only 3.4 million people. The voting stations close at 10 p.m. with preliminary results expected early Saturday morning.

Mongolia became a democracy in 1990, ending more than six decades of one-party communist rule under the same People's Party that is in power today. The ruling party has transformed into a center-left party in the democratic era.

The main opposition has been the Democratic Party, a center-right party, though the HUN Party has emerged in this election as a potential third force.

Many voters have come to view the parliament as “thieves” bent on enriching themselves and their business friends though the public treasury. Corruption scandals have eroded confidence in the government and political parties.

Besides corruption, major issues for voters include unemployment and inflation in an economy rocked first by the COVID-19 pandemic and then the fallout from the war in Ukraine. The country's livestock herders were also hit by a “dzud” this year, a combination of severe weather and drought, that killed 7.1 million animals.