Alexander Zverev fails in the quarterfinals against Taylor Fritz

Zverev – Fritz 6:6: Phew, there was a lot of drama in the last service game of this first set. Zverev is quickly 0:40 behind and has three set points against him. Because he finds his serve again (two service winners, an ace), he is actually able to break free. When he has the advantage, he loses the longest rally of the match at 28 strokes. But he recovers from that too and saves himself in the tiebreak.

Zverev – Fritz 5:6: Nothing new in Fritz’s sixth service game. He serves two aces and wins game eleven in the set one to zero.

Zverev – Fritz 5:5: The Hamburg player avoids losing the set, assists at the end of a completely botched forehand by the US boy and wins his serve at 15. The tension in the first set gradually increases.

Zverev – Fritz 4:5: It remains the same: Zverev cannot get a foot in the door on the American’s serve, even though Fritz makes his second double fault. Zverev is currently struggling with the string tension of his racket. He looked at his racket several times and his box already signaled that he would like a new racket with new strings.

Zverev – Fritz 4:4: The German holds up to the pressure and secures a 4:4 draw. Given the strength of the serves shown by both opponents so far, it looks as though the set will have to be decided in a tiebreak.

Zverev – Fritz 3:4: Fritz continues to show no weakness on his own serve. He doesn’t allow a break chance in his fourth service game either and puts Zverev under pressure to follow suit.

Zverev – Fritz 3:3: Zverev probably thinks: If my opponent can do it, I can do it too and pulls ahead to 40:0. But then the net played a trick on him twice. First, a backhand longline from the German touched the net and landed out of bounds. Then Fritz supported from the net when Zverev stormed forward and was unable to react to the change in direction of the ball. When a forehand from Fritz landed out of reach in the corner, it was suddenly deuce. The rally that followed was the most spectacular of the historic match, at the end of which Zverev passed his opponent with a forehand longline before winning the important game.

Zverev – Fritz 2:3: That goes quickly. The American doesn’t give Zverev a single point in this service game and regains the lead.

Zverev – Fritz 2:2: First, the Hamburg player made his first double fault, then he faced his first break point after a failed backhand volley, but Fritz missed it with a backhand into the net. After that, Zverev didn’t allow anything else and equalized after two more errors from Fritz.

Zverev – Fritz 1:2: The German shows his face for the first time in the second service game. Fritz has to go past deuce twice, but ultimately holds his serve after Zverev has pushed a forehand return into the net.

Zverev – Fritz 1:1: Zverev starts off with two aces in his first service game, which he wins to nil. A promising start for the German.

Zverev – Fritz 0:1: The local hero gets off to a confident start, immediately shows his hitting power and takes the lead after Zverev makes a backhand error at 30:40 from the German’s perspective.

19:56 – Here we go. The American Fritz opens with his own serve.

19:51 – The opponents have entered Arthur Ashe Stadium and are now warming up. In a few minutes the game will start in mid-summer temperatures in New York.

19:44 – There was good news for the Hamburg native even before the party. By reaching the quarterfinals in New York, Zverev is the second player after number one Jannik Sinner to secure a place at the ATP Finals at the end of the season in Turin.

19:32 – The women’s match on Centre Court ended a few minutes ago. New York native Emma Navarro defeated Paula Badosa 6:2, 7:5 and is now in the semifinals. So, dear tennis fans, you can slowly get ready for the upcoming match between Zverev and Fritz. The two will enter the court in a few moments to warm up.

19:17 – A look at the direct comparison of the two opponents shows that it is usually extremely close between the German and the American number one. They have already met nine times, the first time in 2016. Zverev has won five duels so far, Fritz four.

19:06 – The match will take place on the largest court at the US Open, the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Paula Badosa and Emma Navarro are currently battling there. After this match, it will be Zverev’s turn.

18:44 – “I expect it to be another very, very tough match, a nice battle – hopefully with a different result than in Wimbledon,” said Zverev before the duel. Around two months ago, Fritz had turned a 0-2 set deficit against the ailing Hamburg player in the round of 16 on the sacred grass of Wimbledon. But the signs have changed. “Now I’m healthy, that’s the big difference,” emphasised Zverev.

18:37 – If we look at the world rankings, Zverev is in the lead. The German is ranked fourth, his opponents are ranked twelfth.

18:30 – Welcome to the live ticker for the quarter-final duel between Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz!