Alexander Zverev must continue to wait for his first Grand Slam title. He cannot find a solution against the risk-taking American Taylor Fritz.
Alexander Zverev ran, he fought, but no matter what he tried, it didn’t help in the end. The Hamburg native’s big tennis dream of his first title at one of the four Grand Slams remains unfulfilled; at the US Open he was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Taylor Fritz.
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Zverev lost to the American, who was more active for long stretches, 6:7 (2:7), 6:3, 4:6, 6:7 (3:7) – after 3:26 hours the tournament ended prematurely for him.
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Afterwards, Zverev was ruthless in his criticism of himself: “It was just abysmal, I didn’t do anything to deserve the win, it’s as simple as that. I played terribly. The serve was OK, but from the baseline I felt absolutely terrible.” The 27-year-old was particularly troubled with his backhand: “Terrible, absolutely terrible. My most reliable shot, which I normally play at three in the morning without any problems… I’m lost for words.”
“I have to play my best tennis,” Zverev said before the match, but in the rematch of the Wimbledon round of 16, which he lost dramatically to Fritz in five sets, the German number one struggled from the start against the world number 12.
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“This is of course a huge disappointment for him. There is no getting around it, Fritz won because he was the better player. Sascha fought well, but in the fourth set I didn’t have the feeling that he really believed in his chances,” said Boris Becker at sportdeutschland.tv.
He added: “Compliments to Fritz, who was braver and more variable than Zverev. He looked fitter and deserved to win because he was the better player.” According to Mischa Zverev, his brother would have had to give even more to beat his opponent. “He played his game, was consistent and aggressive. He also served well and his returns were excellent,” Mischa Zverev concluded.
Fritz puts Zverev under pressure early
Fritz was the more active, risk-taking player from the start. Thanks to his good returns, he repeatedly put Zverev under pressure. Zverev seemed too passive in many rallies, got few free points and also struggled with his racket in the tie-break, which Fritz dominated. After 55 minutes, the first set was lost, and rightly so, despite the almost even scores.
Fritz “was well prepared, good strategy. Compliments to Fritz, who was braver and more variable than Zverev. He looked fitter and deserved to win because he was the better player,” Becker praised the American, who remained the more active player, while Zverev was more reactive. But Zverev fought – and took his chance when it suddenly presented itself: With the first break point ever, he took a 5:3 lead, and shortly afterwards he managed to equalize in sets.
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A flash in the pan? It seemed so, as Fritz managed a break to make it 3-0 in the second game of the third set, but Zverev equalized. However, he was unable to take advantage of the American’s weak phase.
Fritz pulled himself together again – and when the German number one served, he used his fifth set point to take the lead. Not least because he acted more decisively.
Becker: Zverev doesn’t show enough conviction
Zverev was unable to find a plan in the fourth set either, and even seemed resigned at times. Becker repeatedly stated that Zverev was not showing enough conviction, “the expression is missing,” he complained. Fritz, on the other hand, stayed true to himself, stuck to his plan – and is now in the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the first time.
Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz are in the semifinals of the US Open. The German doubles team defeated the Argentinian veterans Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 6:7 (11:13), 6:4, 6:1 after a hard-fought first set. Advancing to the round of the last four is Krawietz and Pütz’s greatest joint success at a Grand Slam alongside their semifinal appearance at Wimbledon 2023.
With Sports Information Service (SID)
