Fritz unbalances the impregnable Zverev and there will be a new teacher in Turin

The winner, although the role of the loser is also honorable, was a huge Fritz, who takes a giant step in confidence with this triumph and with this tournament. If he had sinned by not completely believing it, in Turin he consolidated his step forward, imperial in his staging against the German, who had shown himself impregnable against Alcaraz, but the effort seems to have taken its toll on him.

It was not the start that Zverev expected, although he had given himself a big beating the day before with Carlos Alcaraz (already in Malaga to cleanse himself of the disappointment of Turin and focus on the Davis Cup and the farewell of Rafa Nadal) and it was a little understood. the drop in level with which the match came out. But it was also the merit of Fritz, who knows the formula because he has won four of the five matches in 2024, delighted with the track because it allows him to serve with knowledge and deploy his baseline game with more guarantees and effectiveness than on any other surface. .

And you can see that the American has taken a leap in quality in terms of confidence, which in tennis is almost worth more than executing a good shot. So much so that something happens that had not happened in the previous days: he manages to unbalance Zverev’s serve, the best so far in this section because he has not lowered the average of 220 kilometers per hour (217 in this match, compared to 206 in the American, but hits a serve at 231 kilometers per hour). But if one achieves 10 ‘aces’, Fritz adds 15, and on top of that he hits from the bottom: a break that the German cannot later lift. Zverev loses a set in this masters tournament. Bad sign.

It hurts the German, 69 wins this season. And activate the button of commitment and confidence that I lacked not too long ago, when I aimed high, but never managed to reach the top. It’s in the process. And it hits Fritz who is starting to get a little short of breath after having played a huge first set.

So much tension and speed of legs and ideas, that the American’s foot begins to sting. There is a step to the bench to change his shoes and air out a compressed and bruised left foot. But this continues and the pain is forgotten.

The American, son of two tennis players (his mother reached the top ten, but left due to the demands of the circuit), remains standing and accelerates even a little more. At 4-3, he shows his fangs: two breaking balls that Zverev saves with serve and a good backhand, but there are nerves and he pays for it later with a double fault (two in the match, with 34 winners, 39 unforced errors). With his heart in his mouth, he lifts this third break ball with a shot from a mid-height ball. That’s where you can tell whether or not a player has confidence in himself and his shots. And there this Zverev 2024 is grown, who lets out a shout to the roof of the Inalpi Arena to release the tension when he reaches 4-4.

But the German is already warned that Fritz is hungry (31 winners, 34 errors). He does not suffer with his next two service turns and still has the option of ending early with another break in the eleventh game that Zverev saves again in extremis, a backhand that touches the line by millimeters. The German is trembling, as he is not having the consistency of the previous days and not because he doesn’t want to, but because Fritz doesn’t let him, who also screams with rage when he almost misses a ball that sends the game to a tie break.

The bet was on Zverev, who has matured a lot in recent months, training after the games, win or lose, because he does not contemplate letting the train driven by Alcaraz and Sinner escape by any further distance, but it is Fritz who wins it this once in confidence. He had won eight of the last ten tie breaks and he didn’t fail in this one either. The American does not hesitate, does not tremble, does not give in, causing the German to make an error with his backhand that takes him to the heights. To certify that he is prepared for great heights next year, the final, open, crossed and huge forehand to sentence Zverev, who leaves empty-handed after a fantastic week with no one to interrupt his progression. Even Fritz, who already says it himself: “I had a lot of confidence in what I could do and it turned out well.” ATP Finals finalist, waiting for a rival.