Taylor Fritz Blows Past Alexander Zverev to Reach US Open Semis
It seems that the upset stories aren’t finished just yet as Taylor Fritz just added one more to the list after he defeated Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinal of the US Open in four sets, 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3), which helped him reach his first-ever semifinals in any tennis major. Now he is slated to continue a promising campaign on his home soil in front of American fans.
Zverev, who just clinched his 450th tour-level win and a slot at the ATP Finals by the end of the Tour, was left disappointed with a tough break after he failed to claw back in the final two sets of the match which led to his loss. On the other side, Fritz claims his landmark moment in the US Open, and he can definitely cap off that run with a massive battle in the semis, where he is set to face fellow American Frances Tiafoe.
Fritz held his ground in his game against Zverev, which lasted for three hours and 26 minutes. However, Fritz’s consistent performance under pressure proved to be a crucial factor that led him to pull off a massive victory, adding to the huge upsets that featured losses from the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic in the earlier rounds.
A Massive Battle to Remember
Heading into the US Open, Fritz was 0-4 in his last-eight matches at Grand Slam events, which proved to be a pivotal factor in his chances of winning. He stuck to the fundamentals and kept his cool for the crucial moments of the game, leading to the promising victory against one of the best performers in recent majors in Zverev.
“I feel amazing,” Fritz said of the big showdown that he pulled off against Zverev. “I’ve had a lot of looks at quarter-finals in the past couple of years, and today just felt different. I really feel that it was my time to take a step further and it’s only fitting I’m doing it here on this court at the US Open in front of this crowd.”
Fans at the Arthur Ashe Stadium were stunned by the impressive performances from the two stars. Fritz went on to tally a total of 13 break points to counter Zverev’s massive service game, and he even converted two of those breaks to secure the victory against the German star.
Continued Development in the Game
Fritz was the aggressor for most of the game, and he kept his composure in the game with an impressive first-serve, where he won 81% of those points. So far, he forced Zverev to come up with a lot of forehand errors, and he even delivered a promising smash to close out the final deuce in the closing set of the game.
“I’ve worked on adding so much to my game. I feel like my forehand and backhand have kind of always been there, but I’m trying to come to the net a little bit, trying to mix in some drop shots, just trying to add stuff to my game so I can back up my serve in better.”
In this victory, Fritz now seeks to become the first American player to reach a major championship match ever since Andy Roddick pulled off a massive run in the 2009 edition of Wimbledon. Fritz also levels his head-to-head series with Zverev at 5-5 while also building a 16-3 record in all 2024 Majors.