"This will hurt more... I blew it" - Alexander Zverev heartbroken after ATP Finals SF loss to Taylor Fritz

Alexander Zverev lost to Taylor Fritz in the semifinals of the 2024 ATP Finals on November 10. The duo engaged in a closely fought battle that was settled by fine details.

Zverev, the second seed, came into the semifinals of the 2024 ATP Finals without having dropped a set in Turin. Meanwhile, fifth-seeded Fritz had only lost once, to Jannik Sinner, in his group stage campaign. The semifinal contest was the fifth time the two men faced each other this year on the ATP Tour, with Fritz having won their last three encounters.

The American continued his excellent form against Zverev to take a one-set advantage with a solitary break of serve. The German restored parity, taking the second set after breaking Fritz for the first time in the match. The duo continued their supreme serving display in the third set, with Fritz edging past Zverev via a tiebreak 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (3).

The German was heartbroken after losing to the American again and rued his missed chances during the post-match press conference. Zverev said that moving on from this defeat would be harder as he felt he played better than Fritz on the day and had created more chances to take the lead.

Alexander Zverev told reporters,

"I think this one will hurt maybe a bit more because again, as I said, I thought I played at a decent level and I had more chances generally in the third set. I felt like statistically and shot-wise, my level maybe was even higher than his until the important moments. That's where I kind of blew it. This one will hurt more than the other few."

Looking at the statistics, Zverev was better than Fritz on the day. The World No. 2 had a higher first-serve percentage (78% vs 71%) and second-serve points won (50% vs 33%) as well as hit more winners (34 vs 31) and fewer unforced errors (29 vs 34) than the 2024 US Open runner-up.

However, the ability to remain calm on crucial points proved to be key to Fritz's victory, as he won more points under pressure and came out on top against Zverev in the third set tiebreaker.

---

Alexander Zverev ends 2024 ATP season with two titles

Alexander Zverev pictured at Paris Masters 2024 (Source: Getty)

The loss to Taylor Fritz in the semifinals of the 2024 ATP Finals brought an end to what has otherwise been a successful season for Alexander Zverev. The German began the season as the World No. 7 and reached the semifinals of the Australian Open. After a quarterfinal finish at the Indian Wells Masters, Zverev returned to the top 5 of the ATP ranking and stayed there for the rest of the year.

The 27-year-old won his first title of the year at the Rome Masters, where he bettered Nicolas Jarry in the final. Zverev came close to winning his maiden Grand Slam title at the 2024 French Open but was denied the trophy by Carlos Alcaraz.

After a few quiet months on tour, Alexander Zverev returned to his trophy-winning ways at the Paris Masters, where he dashed home favorite Ugo Humbert's hopes in the title decider. Having picked up three more wins at the ATP Finals, Zverev will end the 2024 season with a 69-20 win-loss record.