Hall of Famer Explains Why Taylor Fritz Keeps Beating Alexander Zverev After German’s Laver Cup Defeat

World No.3 Alexander Zverev trails 5-9 in the head-to-head matchups against Taylor Fritz.

Hall of Famer Explains Why Taylor Fritz Keeps Beating Alexander Zverev After German’s Laver Cup Defeat

Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz (Image via X)

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The responsibility to tie the score lay on Alexander Zverev‘s shoulders when he faced Taylor Fritz in the final match of the recently concluded Laver Cup. On the back of Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud‘s doubles win as well as the Spaniard’s victory over Francisco Cerundolo in singles, Team Europe trailed 9–12.

But Zverev suffered a straight-set defeat at the hands of Fritz- for the sixth consecutive time, and as a result, Team Europe failed to lift their sixth title. At the start of their rivalry, Sascha used to have a 5-3 lead in their head-to-head matchups.

But since Wimbledon last year, their matches have ended in the American’s favor. Before the Laver Cup, Fritz denied Zverev his first grass-court title at the Stuttgart Open this year. Even in an interview, Zverev said he would prefer playing World No.2 Jannik Sinner instead of Fritz because the 2024 US Open finalist makes him “uncomfortable“.

Tennis Hall of Fame journalist Steve Flink, during the Court-Side with Beilinson Tennis show, recalled what former player Jim Courier said about Fritz’s dominance over the three-time Grand Slam finalist.

And that’s the separating factor between these two, and I thought actually there was a brief spell where Zverev’s forehand was surprisingly good and aggressive, and finding the corners, and it was terrific for a while, but he doesn’t sustain his belief in it. He doesn’t sustain his belief in continuing to go for it, and once he backs off a bit, then Fritz just jumps on him.

In the Laver Cup, Fritz lost his doubles match, which he played with Alex Michelsen on the first day, against the pair of Alcaraz and Jakub Mensik. But he clinched the wins in the two singles matches he played- first against Alcaraz (also his first win after three consecutive defeats) and his second against Zverev.

Next, Zverev will be locking horns with Lorenzo Sonego in the second round to kick off his China Open campaign. He is also playing doubles with Marcelo Melo, and the pair will face fellow unseeded players Cameron Norrie and Yunchaokete Bu in their opening round.

Zverev has clinched only the BMW Open by beating Holger Rune this year. Apart from Munich and Stuttgart, Zverev also reached the Australian Open final, only to lose easily to Sinner in straight sets.

Steve Johnson backs Taylor Fritz to win a Grand Slam title

Former player Steve Johnson, during the Nothing Major podcast, said the win over Carlos Alcaraz will give Taylor Fritz a lot of confidence in Grand Slam events. Fritz came close to lifting a Major last year, but he was no match for Jannik Sinner in the final.

Taylor Fritz
Taylor Fritz (Image via X/Jose Morgado)

If that doesn’t give Taylor the confidence to go and win a Slam, not that he didn’t have it already, but to finally get a win over Carlos. At least in this format, and you will have some people say it doesn’t count because it’s Laver Cup, but whatever, that has got to help Taylor’s confidence in thinking I can beat this guy.

Fritz will next be locking horns with Gabriel Diallo to kick-start his campaign at the Japan Open. He and first seed Alcaraz are projected to face off in the final. Alcaraz, instead of defending his title at the China Open, will be making his debut at the Japan Open.

The six-time Grand Slam champion will be chasing his eighth title of the season as well as his third ATP 500 trophy after his wins at the Rotterdam Open and the Queen’s Club Championships. Fritz has so far clinched two titles- both on grass- in Stuttgart and Eastbourne. After Tokyo, their next destination is Shanghai for the ATP 1000 tournament.

Also read: Roger Federer Names Two Players He Hated Training Against During his Tennis Career