22:08
Alexander Zverev – Taylor Fritz 6:4, 0:1
Fritz has big plans for the second round and starts with a service game without losing any points. At the end, the 13th in the world rankings conjures up an unexpected stop ball from his wrist.
22:05
Sentence conclusion
Both players hardly make any unforced errors (8:8), which speaks for the high quality of the match. Zverev serves at an incredible level, plays 81 percent of his first serves into the field and wins 81 percent of them. In this area, the Hamburger has clear advantages over Fritz, who can only accommodate 55.2 percent of his first serves in the field.
22:03
Alexander Zverev – Taylor Fritz 6:4
Zverev serves at an average speed of 212 km/h, hits an ace to the outside and seals the first set.
21:59
Alexander Zverev – Taylor Fritz 5:4
Pressure doesn’t seem to be an issue for Fritz in this game. The American serves well, doesn’t give up a single point and forces Zverev to serve himself for the first set.
21:56
Alexander Zverev – Taylor Fritz 5:3
Despite the damaged left hand, Alexander Zverev continues to play at a very high level, doesn’t open a single door for his opponent to make a re-break and has the chance to win the first set for the first time in the next game.
21:51
Alexander Zverev – Taylor Fritz 4:3
Zverev can take two points from Fritz, but doesn’t have the last punch to really endanger the American’s serve game. During the break before the next service game, the German was treated again on his left wrist and little finger, which apparently caused him more problems.
21:46
Alexander Zverev – Taylor Fritz 4:2
As soon as the rallies last more than five shots, Zverev has a clear advantage (11:3). This can be seen again in the Hamburger’s next service game. The 27-year-old also spreads his second ace through the middle and again has hardly any problems with his own service.
21:40
Alexander Zverev – Taylor Fritz 3:2
Zverev has so far dominated the points from the baseline. In this game, the world number five breaks out of a cross rally, runs around his backhand and fires a winner down the line. Nevertheless, Fritz holds his position and wins his service game.
21:37
Alexander Zverev – Taylor Fritz 3:1
In contrast to Zverev, Fritz cannot yet make a big impact on the return. Without any real excitement, Zverev marches through his service game and effortlessly confirms the break.
21:32
Alexander Zverev – Taylor Fritz 2:1
He apparently won the third point while falling, because the German starts the third game of the first set again with three break balls. He still lacks precision on his first two returns, but on the third break ball Fritz makes a mistake on his forehand. Zverev gets the break early.
21:30
Zverev continues playing
It doesn’t look like a serious injury. Zverev returns quickly and can continue the game.
21:26
Zverev falls and needs to be treated on his left hand
The first two points go to Zverev after a few powerful groundstrokes, who plays his strokes with the utmost precision. However, during the third exchange of blows, the German falls down, lands on his left hand upon impact and appears to have injured himself. There is a medical interruption. Hopefully the fifth in the world rankings can continue the match.
21:21
Alexander Zverev – Taylor Fritz 1:1
Zverev shows several powerful shots with his backhand and impresses the audience with them, as well as with his final ace through the middle. A very good start to his first service game.
21:17
Alexander Zverev – Taylor Fritz 0:1
Zverev won the coin toss and opted for the return. The German positions himself far behind the baseline, but neither chooses the right timing nor the right meeting point for the first balls. Fritz benefits from this at the beginning, but allows his opponent three points in a row, so he has to survive the first moment of pressure.
20:41
Balance sheet vs. form
Zverev usually copes very well on the world’s clay courts and has a strong record of 135-52 wins on this particular surface. Fritz can’t come close to keeping up with numbers like that (46-33 wins on clay), but he’s playing better than ever on the red surface this year. The American reached his first clay court final in Munich and then confirmed this form with a semi-final appearance in Madrid.
20:35
Tournament history of Taylor Fritz
Taylor Fritz started his path to the quarterfinals with an easy win against Fognini (6:3, 6:4) and also beat his compatriot Sebastian Korda with the same result. In the round of 16 there was a big clash with Grigor Dimitrov, which was only exciting in the second set. (6:2, 6:7, 6:1).
20:30
Not a lost set on the way to the quarter-finals
Zverev started with a relatively relaxed opening match against Vukic and only lost four games in total (6:0, 6:4). The German then met the Italian Darderi, had to survive a tie-break in the first round, but then had only a few problems in the second set (7:6, 6:2). After his 2-0 win in the round of 16 against Borges (6:2, 7:5), the fifth-placed player in the world rankings moved into the quarter-finals without losing a set.
20:11
Direct comparison
In a direct comparison of the two top 15 players, Zverev is currently slightly ahead. The German won four of the seven duels played. After the Hamburg player won the first two comparisons, Zverev and Fritz continuously took turns winning. In the last meeting at the United Cup 2023, Taylor was clearly superior to Fritz (6:1, 6:4).
20:08
greeting
Welcome to the second quarterfinals of the Masters tournament in Rome! Alexander Zverev will meet Taylor Fritz for the eighth time this evening.
