Alexander Zverev pulled no punches when discussing his defeat in the ATP Finals semifinal to Taylor Fritz, feeling he blew it.
Zverev had been playing great indoor hardcourt tennis before the match against Fritz. He won the Paris Masters ahead of the season-ending tournament, crushing home favorite Ugo Humbert in the final.
The German carried that form into his round-robin matches at the ATP Finals. After defeating Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud, Zverev triumphed against an angry Carlos Alcaraz to qualify for the semifinals without dropping a set.
Alcaraz and Zverev's match was the best of the tournament. The Spaniard competed well in both sets but still fell 6-7, 4-6. He was particularly frustrated after losing the opening set and threw his racket on the ground.
Zverev's level throughout the ATP Finals had been better than Fritz's heading into their semifinal. However, Fritz won their three previous meetings in 2024 at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Laver Cup.
History repeated itself for a fourth successive time at the ATP Finals. After a dramatic match, Fritz triumphed 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 after playing a much better tiebreak than the world No. 2.
That set up a repeat of the US Open final against Jannik Sinner. Unfortunately for Fritz, the result was the same as at Flushing Meadows. Sinner proved far too good and secured a maiden ATP Finals title in front of his home fans in Turin.
Zverev may feel he could have posed a more significant challenge to Sinner in the final. That makes the tight semifinal defeat to Fritz even more brutal for the two-time ATP Finals title winner.
Speaking after being eliminated from the ATP Finals, Zverev admitted it hurt more than the losses at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Laver Cup to Fritz because the 27-year-old felt he had the upper hand throughout much of the match before blowing it.
"This one will hurt maybe a bit more because I thought I played at a decent level and I had more chances generally in the third set. I felt like statistically and shot-wise, my level maybe was even higher than his until the important moments."
"That's where I kind of blew it. This one will hurt more than the other few. I didn't use my chances in the third set at all. I feel like I had more than enough. I played a below-average tie-break, I would say. A lot worse than what the level was throughout the third set from my end."
Although Zverev was devastated to lose, he also praised Fritz's improved game. The two-time Grand Slam runner-up pointed to his forehand as the most improved element.
“His forehand used to break down quite a lot. His forehand was always fast, and very aggressive, but it was very shaky in important moments. He could hit a winner, but he could hit the fence, as well."
"I feel like the ratio is a lot more towards winners now than hitting the fence. His forehand doesn't break down as much as it used to. I think that's the shot that improved the most for him."
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