Germany’s Alexander Zverev admitted his backhand led to his downfall after his quarter-final loss to home favorite Taylor Fritz in the US Open. The American registered a 7-6(7-2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(7-3) win against the German to make it to his maiden Major semifinal.
Zverev committed 15 unforced backhand errors during three and a half hours and couldn’t find his A-game on the court.
“I don’t remember since being on Tour hitting my backhand this badly. I just don’t,” Zverev said in his post-match press conference. “I was missing shots which were in the middle of the court with no pace, in the bottom of the net. Terrible. Just absolutely terrible by me.”
The lanky player admitted he off-color with his favorite shot and he has no answers for his dismal show.
“My forehand was okay, actually. My serve was okay. But my most reliable shot, the shot that I’m most known for, the shot that you [could] wake me up at 3 a.m. and I would not miss, was absolutely not there today,” Zverev said. “I have no words for it, to be honest.”
Zverev admitted he was clueless in some situations and had no idea what to do against the American.
“At some point, I didn’t know what to do anymore,” said Zverev, who is up two places to No. 2 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. “At some point I just had so many questions in my mind. I had absolutely no idea whether I should go for it, whether I should put the ball [in] the court. Then I tried to put the ball [in] the court, it would go to the bottom of the net.
“A few shots I went for it, they flew. The thing is, I was missing shots by like six feet, regular baseline shots. I don’t know.
“[Taylor] absolutely deserved to win today. I’m not taking anything away from him. He played quite a good match. I did nothing to deserve to win.”
Taylor Fritz will take on compatriot Frances Tiafoe in the semifinal clash on Friday.
