Match the Reaction
Zverev: ‘I don’t remember hitting my back badly’
The German two-hander draws 15 unforced errors for one winner
September 03, 2024
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Alexander Zverev leaves the US Open with a season record of 56-17.
By ATP staff
Fourth seed Alexander Zverev called his backhand his ‘most reliable shot’ on Tuesday at the US Open. But the German double-hander experienced the negative side of a double-edged sword in losing to home favorite Taylor Fritz.
“I don’t remember since I was on Tour hitting my back this badly. I just don’t do it,” said Zverev in a press conference after the match. “I was missing balls that were in the middle of the field and I didn’t have the speed, at the bottom of the net. It’s bad. It’s just really bad for me.”
In a tight four-set battle that lasted nearly three-and-a-half hours inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, Zverev made 15 unforced errors for one winner in that set.
“My front was fine, actually. My service was good. But my most trusted shot, the shot I’m least known for, is the shot you [could] I woke up at 3 in the morning and I couldn’t miss it, I wasn’t at all today,” said Zverev. “I have no words for it, to be honest.”
Zverev, a 2020 finalist at Flushing Meadows, also lost to Fritz in the fourth round of Wimbledon two months ago. Their Lexus ATP Head2Head series is now tied at 5-5.
Although Zverev battled back to take the second set, his opening game left him in despair as Fritz prevailed 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3).
“At a certain point, I didn’t know what to do anymore,” said Zverev, who climbed to as high as No. 2 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. “At one point I had many questions in my mind. I didn’t know at all whether I should take it, or whether I should put the ball [in] the court. Then I tried to put the ball [in] field, would go under the net.
“The few shots I fired, they flew. The thing is, I was missing shots like six feet, regular basic shots. I don’t know.
“[Taylor] really deserved to win today. I am not taking anything away from him. He played a really good game. There is nothing I can do to win.”
Despite the disappointing loss, Zverev leaves the last major season leading the ATP Tour in match wins this year (56-17). A Roland Garros finalist, Zverev was aiming to become the second German in the Open Era to reach three major semi-finals in a season (Boris Becker in 1989, 1991).
The Nitto ATP Finals champion is second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin with almost two months until this year’s season finale. Zverev officially qualified for the prestigious year-end event by reaching the last eight in New York.
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