Two things that stood out in Alexander Zverev's semifinal win over Arthur Fils at Hamburg European Open
Fourth seed Alexander Zverev of Germany beat Arthur Fils of France, 6-2 6-4, in the 2023 Hamburg European Open semifinal on Saturday, July 29. The match lasted just over one and a half hours, as the 26-year-old continued his impressive form in the ATP 500 tournament.
Yet to drop a set in his home tournament so far, Zverev will take on Laslo Djere of Serbia in the final on Sunday, July 30. Djere defeated Lorenzo Musetti and Zhizhen Zhang in the quarterfinals and the semifinals, respectively.
On that note, let us take a look at two things that stood out in the match between Zverev and Fils.
#1. Alexander Zverev displayed clinical tennis in the first set
Zverev seemed to be in his element in the first set. He served a few aces, executed the drop shots well, and troubled the 19-year-old Frenchman with his well-placed groundstrokes. Moreover, the 19th-ranked German also hit his crosscourt forehand repeatedly to make Fils continuously stretch to his right.
Alexander Zverev thus raced to a 4-0 lead in the set, breaking Fils twice in the process. World No. 71 Fils recollected himself thereafter and held his serve in a couple of games. However, he was not able to break the German, who won the set quite convincingly.
#2. Fils attacked in the second set, but Zverev defended superbly
Alexander Zverev once again made a great start in the second set as he broke Fils in the first game itself. The Olympic gold medalist then held his serve to go 2-0 up and looked almost sure to wrap things up with consummate ease.
Sensing that a defeat was imminent for him, Fils went for broke and started putting a lot of power into his strokes. However, the German was absolutely superb in his defense, repeatedly stretching to either wing and retrieving difficult balls. Still, Fils showed glimpses of his undeniable potential and won a few entertaining rallies.
Alexander Zverev stayed in the rallies longer and forced his opponent to commit mistakes while trying to overpress. The 26-year-old ended the match by playing a defensive lob, which landed on the baseline after 19-year-old Fils misjudged its flight and left it alone.
Fils managed to win only 62% of the points on his first serve in the match, while Zverev managed 73%. That was the decisive difference between the two players, as the German booked his place in the summit clash with Djere. Zverev will start as the favourite in the match on his home soil and Djere should have his task cut out.