California Crush 🌴 Crowd favorite @Taylor_Fritz97 hands Zverev just his second loss in 22 matches 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) to reach a first Masters 1000 semifinal! #BNPPO21
Taylor Fritz extended his dream run at the BNP Paribas Open by another match with a comeback win over Alexander Zverev 3-6 6-4 7-6(3).
As expected Zverev and Fritz played a very entertaining and close match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Taylor Fritz has enjoyed the best week of tennis in his life with the American playing a very high-risk high reward type of tennis. For the most part, it worked so far and today it worked once more. For Zverev it was key to remain solid overall and while he was for a better part of the match the final 25 minutes of the match proved to be his doom.
The first two games featured a bit of a shaky start by both. We saw both of them lose their serve but in the end, the result was still 1-1. After that Zverev settled in nicely patiently waiting for a chance on Fritz's second serve. He squandered the first chances but proved more focused the 2nd time around breaking the American for a 5-3 lead. That turned to a 6-4 1st set finish thanks to strong play on Fritz's second serve.
That scenario flipped a little bit in the 2nd set as Zverev was not as sharp as in the first set. Fritz was much sharper than in the first set but the whole set came down to a few rallies where Fritz proved better. The American served better which made things easier but he also saved the only break point he faced. That huge hold came moments after he broke Zverev for a 3-1 lead preserving the momentum. Good serving allowed him to close it out with 6-3.
Warned by the 2nd set, Zverev stepped up considerably in the final one. It was his best set by far and the one where his full serving ability was on display. Zverev broke Fritz early for a 3-1 lead mainly thanks to some stellar play on the American's 2nd serve. Zverev held the lead until the moment he was supposed to end it when Fritz broke him to make it 5-4 and then 5-5. We ended up in a tiebreak where Fritz simply outplayed Zverev easily to win it 7-3.
A fabulous win for Fritz who extends his magical run in Indian Wells. This match will sting a while for Zverev who had a match point only to lose 26 minutes later.
California Crush 🌴 Crowd favorite @Taylor_Fritz97 hands Zverev just his second loss in 22 matches 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) to reach a first Masters 1000 semifinal! #BNPPO21