Written by Richard Pagliaro | @Itenisi_Manje | Thursday, October 31, 2024
Photo credit: Matthew Calvin
Alexander Zverev played a demolition man in Paris today.
Zverev hit 16 aces against the talented Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to advance to the 31st ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinals.
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The 6’6″ Zverev is second on the ATP in aces behind only Hubert Hurkacz and is third on Tour in service matches held in 2024 behind world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini .
The 20-year-old Fils cites three reasons why Zverev’s serve is so bad: height, weight and the chaos it creates even when he gets the racquet on the ball.
Fils said Zverev’s height creates a different trajectory that is difficult to follow and his weight makes it difficult to control the return.
“He’s very tall, so he comes from very high,” Fils said of Zverev. “It comes with a lot of power. So you try to wait a little bit, to understand what you’re doing, but obviously indoors is different than on clay.
“If you’re not in the line of the ball, you can’t get it back. When you’re in it, it’s hard to control it. So that’s what makes him one of the best servers. That’s how I see him. .”
