Fritz extends winning streak vs. Zverev at Laver Cup

Is Taylor Fritz set for a late-season surge that takes him all the way to the Nitto ATP Finals?

The Team World star on Saturday notched his seventh victory against a Top 10 opponent in 2024 by overcoming Team Europe’s Alexander Zverev 6-4, 7-5 at the Laver Cup. Fritz rallied from 2-4 down in the second set before securing a one-hour, 57-minute win, his third consecutive tour-level triumph against the German, to set Team World on course to opening an 8-4 lead after Day 2 in Berlin.

“I think over the years we have always had close matches,” said Fritz in his post-match press conference of his rivalry with Zverev. “I think the games match up well. I can serve and hang in there with my serve, because he's very tough to break. You have to have a good serve to stay in the match with him or else he's just going to serve you out of the match.

“His backhand is incredibly good. I think my backhand is my stronger side, too, so I feel like maybe I can neutralise and hang with him on that side where maybe some people wouldn't be able to stay in a pattern. But the biggest thing is I have just been playing well.”

Back on 🔝 @Taylor_Fritz97 gives Team World the 6-4 lead after a 6-4 7-5 triumph over Zverev.@LaverCup | #LaverCup pic.twitter.com/zAHTgLVl39

— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 21, 2024

The 26-year-old Fritz arrived in Germany off the back of reaching his maiden Grand Slam final at the US Open, where he defeated Zverev in four sets in the quarter-finals. Having also prevailed in the pair’s fourth-round clash at Wimbledon in July, he now leads the German 6-5 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Fritz fired a series of searing winners from deep to overcome Zverev on home soil in Berlin, where Team World and its captain John McEnroe are chasing a third successive victory at the teams event. Although Zverev channelled home support to move a break ahead in the second set, he was unable to maintain his charge as Fritz secured a victory in which he fired 27 winners to his opponent’s 11.

Although no PIF ATP Rankings points are available this week at the Laver Cup, where Fritz is competing as the World No. 7, Saturday evening’s victory against home favourite Zverev at Uber Arena was another reminder of the momentum the American has built heading into the final two months of the season. He is fifth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin as he chases a second appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals.

Ben Shelton and Alejandro Tabilo built impressively on Fritz’s momentum for Team World by notching a comfortable doubles victory against Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final match of the day. The pair eased to a 6-1, 6-2 triumph to open up an 8-4 lead for John McEnroe’s men as they head into Day 3, when four matches worth three points each are on the schedule.

“We put [Shelton and Tabilo] together and they stepped up big time,” said Team World captain McEnroe in his on-court interview. “We’ve had a great day and we’re pumped for tomorrow.

“We need two wins, and I think we’re going to come out tomorrow in the doubles guns blazing. I like our chances, and hopefully if we win that, we need one out of three [singles matches]. Team Europe are great, three of the top four players in the world are in Team Europe, so we know we’ve got our hands full, but we are totally psyched for tomorrow.”