Does Sascha Zverev Revenge his Round of 16 Wimbledon loss to Fritz?
Week two of the US Open, it’s time for big matchups. This is the best match of the tournament on paper thus far, and we are thinking it should deliver.
Starting with form, it seems as if both are playing some of their best tennis at the right time. Sascha looked amazing throughout the clay season, but picked up a small knee injury during grass season. Fritz took more of a cruise control route come the North American Hardcourt swing, while Sascha lost a heartbreaker to Sinner in the Cincinnati Semi final.
With these two players, you essentially know what you’re going to get. Two huge serving guys on tour that will eat up anything in their path, outside the top 15 that is. You can always trust these two to have deep runs at slams and 1000s because of how serve dominant they are. But when you check out the rally tolerance on both wings at six feet six inches, you’re thinking to yourself what can’t these guys do.
As I watched some film from the Wimbledon Round of 16 matchup, I noticed the lack of commitment to footwork on the grass. Such a slick surface, points are bound to end quicker. Zverev was moving comfortably through the match until the first few pressure points arrived. Looked a lot less confident in that fourth set tiebreak as the momentum began to shift Fritzys way. I did watch a bit of their match on hard from January, but that was early early season, not too much meaning for me there. I just wanted to analyze some of their cross court dynamics, with Zverev having an edge on the backhand wing.
I think both players can create an edge in this match via their footwork. You’re probably thinking “Simon, how can footwork be that important when the ball has to go over the net via the racquet?” I answer that with “We are dealing with two top 8 ball strikers, these points can end in a jiffy.” Who’s willing to dig out some of these crosscourt points, take the extra steps to get their body behind a backhand, who will mix in the drop shot first? Extending points and turning defense into offense will be the difference in the match for me.
Both of these guys tend to hold their control at the center of the court, with Fritzy pressing against his backhand wing just a bit more. You can just expect to see Fritzy utilize the inside out forehand more because he enjoys following it up to the net with his great hand skills. Sascha is a bit more hybrid, more content to hang deep centrally and work his work his way through the point. 2nd best backhand in the game, forehand wavers from time to time. Just no weakness from behind the baseline.
This is such a perfect matchup because their play style is so similar. I was actually a little bit surprised by the odds, as I thought Zverev should be a heavier favorite.
Sascha just feels more reliable on hard. More consistent bounces, beautiful serving conditions. I feel like this match is more about the big points though. Both are playing well enough right now that with rhythm and serving this will be back and forth. But those few pressure points that do come out are going to be wicked important!! It felt like Fritz won a majority of those in the Wimbledon match, in which he went on to win in five sets.
Really pulling for Fritzy here!! Gonna need that crowd today…
Until next time,
-Simon
Very well written- thank you
Sent from my iPad
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