Taylor Fritz reached his maiden Grand Slam semi-final after stunning Alexander Zverev at the 2024 US Open.
The two have played many matches in the past, including an iconic meeting earlier this year. It happened at Wimbledon, and Zverev held a 2-0 lead in sets but then allowed his opponent to fight back and win the match while struggling with physical issues.
This match was a bit different because it was played on a hard court, and Fritz was playing on home soil, where he's historically been really good. The way he demolished Casper Ruud certainly showed that he meant business at Flushing Meadows this year.
Zverev has been beating opponents quite easily as well, but heasn't looked that overwhelming to his opponents as much as Fritz has. New York has been a good spot for him, but the matchup wasn’t ideal.
The opening set of the match was close, but Fritz didn’t face a single break point in that entire set because he was just too overwhelming for the German at times. The American also missed out on a huge chance to win the set at 6-5 when he had a couple of set points.
Eventually, he was able to win the set in the tie-break, which was hugely important. It was a good set from both, but in the crucial moments, Fritz could find something more and won the opening set because of it.
The second set saw Zverev fight back in an inspired way. Going down 0-2 against Fritz in New York would be a massive problem, but he managed to erase a one-set deficit. The key was handling his opponent a bit better in the rallies, forcing him to commit many mistakes.
It happened, and Zverev was able to win it 6-3. The next set opened poorly for Zverev, who fell behind 0-3 early but could then battle back and make it 3-3. He could even apply pressure to try and break his opponent's serve but couldn’t, with Fritz getting set points at 5-4.
Despite heroically trying to save all of them, Zverev ultimately lost his game, giving Fritz a 2-1 lead in sets. The problem in this match for the German player was not being able to create too much pressure with his serve.
Fritz adjusted his position, and it worked out well for him. The fourth set started well for both, but the home crowd favorite still looked like the more confident player. At 3-2, the American got himself some break chances, but he couldn't convert.
As a result, the set had to be decided in a tie-break. Fritz started better, taking a 2-0 lead, which became a 4-1 lead not long after that. He didn't lose that as he was able to win the tie-break and the match 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3) to reach the semi-finals of the 2024 US Open, his first major semi-final, after previously losing in the quarter-final stage of a Grand Slam four times.
Alexander Zverev vs Taylor Fritz Match Stats:
| Alexander Zverev | Taylor Fritz | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Aces | 12 |
| 4 | Double Faults | 5 |
| 72% | First Serve % | 63% |
| 75% (77/103) | Points Won After First Serve % | 81% (66/81) |
| 48% (20/42) | Points Won After Second Serve % | 53% (25/47) |
| 50% (2/4) | Break Point Conversion | 15% (2/13) |
| 52 | Winners | 45 |
| 41 | Unforced Errors | 48 |
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