Zverev: 'I don't remember hitting my backhand this badly’

Fourth seed Alexander Zverev called his backhand his ‘most reliable shot’ on Tuesday at the US Open. But the German’s double-hander met the negative side of a double-edged sword in a quarter-final loss to home favourite Taylor Fritz.

“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.”

In a tight four-set battle which lasted nearly three-and-a-half hours inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, Zverev committed 15 unforced backhand errors to just one winner off that wing.

“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, who was a finalist in 2020 at Flushing Meadows, also lost to Fritz in the Wimbledon fourth round just two months ago. Their Lexus ATP Head2Head series is now tied at 5-5.

Though Zverev fought back to capture the second set, his baseline game let him down in key moments as Fritz secured the victory 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3).

“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.”

Despite the disappointing loss, Zverev leaves the season’s final major leading the ATP Tour in match wins this year (56-17). A finalist at Roland Garros, Zverev was aiming to become the second German man in the Open Era to reach three major semi-finals in a season (Boris Becker in 1989, 1991).

The two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion is second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin with roughly two months until this year’s edition of the season finale. Zverev officially qualified for the prestigious year-end event by reaching the last eight in New York.

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