Alexander Zverev has missed yet another chance to win a Grand Slam title. The German champion was the second-best contender after Jannik Sinner at the 2024 US Open, but his run ended in the quarterfinals against Taylor Fritz. The current world number 4 – who had lost to the American already at the Wimbledon Championships during the summer – played a bad match committing many unforced errors (even with his beloved backhand).
The feeling is that Sascha – after the elimination of Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic – has felt the pressure and could not manage the pressure as many times happened to him in his career. Zverev has played a solid season so far and is not too far from Sinner in the ATP Race, but he has failed to raise his level in the decisive moments of the Grand Slam tournaments.
The Majors have been a curse for the German player ever since he lost that incredible final against Dominic Thiem at the US Open in 2020. Due to this loss in the quarterfinals in New York, Sascha’s chances of finishing the year at the top of the ATP ranking have been significantly reduced.
Another wasted chance
After the disappointment at Flushing Meadows, fans and insiders wonder if Alexander will be able to win at least one Grand Slam title before the end of his career.
At the end of his match against Fritz, Zverev could not hide his huge disappointment: “I don’t remember since being on Tour hitting my backhand this badly. I just don’t. I was missing shots which were in the middle of the court with no pace, in the bottom of the net. Terrible. Just absolutely terrible by me. My forehand was okay, actually. My serve was okay. But my most reliable shot, the shot that I’m most known for, the shot that you could wake me up at 3 a.m. and I would not miss, was absolutely not there today. I have no words for it, to be honest.
At some point, I didn’t know what to do anymore. At some point I just had so many questions in my mind. I had absolutely no idea whether I should go for it, whether I should put the ball [in] the court. Then I tried to put the ball [in] the court, it would go to the bottom of the net. A few shots I went for it, they flew. The thing is, I was missing shots by like six feet, regular baseline shots. I don’t know. Taylor absolutely deserved to win today. I’m not taking anything away from him. He played quite a good match. I did nothing to deserve to win.” The German ace does not seem to have the necessary mental strength to overcome difficult times and the curse of the Grand Slam tournaments is becoming more and more heavy.
Fritz deserved to win
Fritz – on the contrary – was radiant after reaching his first semi-final in a Major: “I stepped onto the court feeling very good, ready for the challenge. I think in many of my previous Grand Slam quarterfinals, I stepped onto the court a bit nervous, but today I felt very good from the beginning, ready to give it my all. Perhaps I started feeling more nervous as the match progressed because I felt he was playing a bit tense. That, in a way, caused me to play somewhat tense as well. However, I was able to hit many good serves when needed, played some crucial points very well. I am very excited to reach my first semifinal.”
The American ace has improved a lot mentally: “I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s just about playing the important points well: in the first set today, I had three set points on his serve and couldn’t convert any, it’s tough. Winning tiebreaks, especially if you’re a big server, makes a difference. You would be surprised to see how good a player can be when they win a couple of important points here and there.
Sometimes when I play well, I come out on top in those moments, and sometimes when I play poorly, I don’t. In Montreal and Cincinnati, I was very bad at seizing those situations, played crucial points very poorly. I exited early in both tournaments. Sometimes it makes all the difference. I have done a great job in that aspect this year.”
Taylor will face fellow countrywoman and friend Frances Tiafoe for a place in the final. Tiafoe – already a finalist in Cincinnati – beat Grigor Dimitrov thanks to the retirement of the Bulgarian.
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