In a match of rising stars on the ATP Tour, Alexander Zverev submitted his case as one of the standard bearers for the future of men's tennis. He used his strong backhand and increasing blazing serve to coast past young American Taylor Fritz. The young German, Zverev, is sometimes known for his display of emotion on the court. Yet, it was Fritz who seemed to fall apart at the end. He faded quickly in the match as Zverev won 6-4, 6-2, moving on in the 2016 Citi Open.
Trouble ahead
Fritz, the 6th ranked American male on tour, has had his share of ups and down this year. He reached his first ATP World Tour final in Memphis in February. He then went on to push legend Roger Federer to the limit during the grass court season. However, his faults seem to be getting more frequent. He had lost nine of ten matches coming into play today.
Zverev looked to keep Fritz's string of losses going.
The second-ranked German player on tour started out strong. He broke Fritz in just the third game of the match. One of the more remarkable displays of talent today was the crispness of Zverev's backhand. The tall and lanky German glided across the court with grace as he sharply stabbed at any shots Fritz sent across the net. His strong two-handed backhand is quickly becoming one of the better on tour. He used the shot to get himself out of trouble as well.
After Zverev broke Fritz, he ran into significant trouble in the following game. The 27th player in the world faced five break points in the game. He saved all of them. He was able to get himself back in the point by neutralizing shorts with that strong backhand and using his powerful forehand to pound groundstrokes into the hard surface of the outdoor courts in Washington, D.C. After holding serve throughout, the young player won the first set 6-4.
Zverev consolidates
After Zverev took the first set, it seemed as if he simply broke the will of Fritz. Towering over his opponent at 6'6'', Zverev is one of the more imposing players on tour, despite his lankiness. He used that that height and his long wingspan to easily reach shots sent his way. He also seemed to have a marked advantage on serve. The young German regularly touched 135 miles per hour while on serve. Those powerful serves made life that much more difficult for an increasingly frustrated Fritz.
Zverev, with his calm demeanor, seemed to step up his shot-making and defending ability. During one stretch, he won 17 of 19 points in the second set. All, told Zverev only dropped two games as he easily won the set and closed the book on Fritz.
While the victor held his composure throughout the match, Fritz became increasingly unraveled. No more glaring an example was displayed than when Fritz reacted to watched a winning shot sail by. Zverev touched off a beautiful winner with a forehand shot. As the crowd celebrated in approval, Fritz responded with a shout and then a break of his racket. Tension only subsided when he had lost the match and embraced his fellow teenage competitor
While Fritz seems to be at a crossroad of which direction he takes to dig himself out of this unprecedented funk in his career, Zverev appears to simply be getting better.