Alexander Zverev appreciates the Foro Italico. Winner of the tournament in 2017, finalist in 2018, semi-finalist in 2022, the German (5th in the world) qualified on Wednesday evening for the last four of the Masters 1000 in Rome, dominating Taylor Fritz (13th), 6-4 , 6-3, in 1h29. The only member of the top 5 still in the running at the quarter-final stage, he thus maintains his rank as theoretical favorite. This is his 18th semi-final in Masters 1000, the ninth on clay. Finalist in Munich and semi-finalist in Madrid, Fritz failed in his pass of three.
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Alexander Zverev will play his ninth Masters 1000 semi-final on clay in Rome. He thus joins David Ferrer. But they remain far from Rafael Nadal (37), Novak Djokovic (28) and Roger Federer (19).
Despite a heavy fall which made people fear the worst for his left wrist and fingers, Zverev signed a break in the third game. Nervous, Fritz was unable to impose his tennis and lost the majority of the long rallies. Even if he restored some order to his game, he did not offer himself any opportunity to break. Imperial on serve (81% of first serves during the first round), the German only gave up six points on his commitment. When he served for the set at 5-4, he slammed three big firsts and an ace.
The second round produced an almost identical scenario. Always formidable on the backhand side, Zverev didn’t give up anything in the exchange. Lost tactically in the face of such rock, Fritz made very poor use of the cushioning. A game marked by three errors (failed drop shot, backhand error, then forehand error) cost him his serve at 3 all. Break in the pocket, his opponent rolled until the first match point. In two sets, Zverev had only lost twelve small points on his serve. He will face the Chilean Alejandro Tabilo in the semis, who defeated Novak Djokovic this week and won the quarters against the Chinese Zhizhen Zhang (6-3, 6-4).
2024-05-15 21:06:42
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