Taylor Fritz defeats Alexander Zverev at Laver Cup for third straight win over the German

American Taylor Fritz continued to be a thorn in Alexander Zverev’s side on Saturday, battling past the world No. 2 in two tight sets in front of his home crowd at Laver Cup in Berlin, 6-4, 7-5.

It was his third straight victory over the German, having also beaten him twice this summer—in the fourth round of Wimbledon (in five sets) and in the quarterfinals of the US Open (in four sets).

And it was a notable win for Fritz in a few more ways.

First of all, it tied the biggest win of his career by ranking, after his victory over a No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal at the 2022 ATP Finals.

Also, he’s now won four of his last five matches against Top 10 players. Three of those four wins have come against Zverev, and the only loss came to world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the US Open final.

FRITZ VS TOP 10 PLAYERS SINCE JUNE:
d. No. 4 Zverev in Wimbledon 4th Rd, 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-3
d. No. 8 Ruud in US Open 4th Rd, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2
d. No. 4 Zverev in US Open QFs, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6
l. to No. 1 Sinner in US Open F, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5
d. No. 2 Zverev in Laver Cup RR, 6-4, 7-5

There was little between the two players on Saturday as the match began with nine holds, but that’s when Fritz drew first blood—with Zverev serving at 4-5, Fritz broke at love to tuck away the first set.

Zverev was the first to pounce in the second set, breaking for a 2-1 lead and eventually stretching that lead to 4-2, but Fritz won the next three games—including getting the break back—and once again, with the German serving to stay in it at 5-6, the American broke one last time.

The world No. 7 sealed the victory with a big inside-out forehand winner—his incredible 19th forehand winner of the match.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to play some really good matches these last couple of times,” Fritz said afterwards of his recent head-to-head advantage over Zverev, which the American now leads overall, 6-5.

Fritz’s victory put Team World up 6-4, and in the next match, Ben Shelton and Alejandro Tabilo defeated Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the doubles match, 6-1, 6-2, to extend the lead to 8-4.

Anything can happen on Sunday, with every match worth three points.