Taylor Fritz does not lose to Alexander Zverev anymore, and not even a partisan German crowd and a Roland Garros champion in red-hot form could change that on Saturday.
The result: Fritz beat top seed Zverev 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-5 to reach the Terra Wortmann Open final and extend one of the more remarkable streaks in the men’s game.
Seventh in a row. The fifth-seeded American has now won seven consecutive meetings with Zverev and leads their series 10-5. The two-hour, 39-minute win ended Zverev’s 10-match winning run — his first defeat since claiming a maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open — and was built on Fritz’s serve: 19 aces and 87 percent of points won behind his first delivery. It was a second straight day of high-stakes serving for Fritz, who had saved a match point to beat Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals, avenging his Stuttgart final loss to the same opponent a week earlier.
Zverev’s Halle drought goes on. For the home favorite, it was a familiar frustration. The world No. 3 remains without a Halle title despite reaching the final in 2016 and 2017, and has now repeatedly faltered at the business end in Germany. Zverev had not dropped serve in racing through the week, but Fritz’s late break in the decider settled a match that, on grass, was always likely to come down to a handful of points.
An all-American final. Fritz will meet compatriot Frances Tiafoe for the title on Sunday after Tiafoe defeated Germany’s Daniel Altmaier 6-1, 6-3 in the second semifinal. It sets up a stars-and-stripes finale on the grass of the heristo-arena and hands American men a notable grass-court showcase a little over a week out from Wimbledon.
Forward look. Fritz, chasing a second consecutive grass final after Stuttgart, arrives in the title match as the in-form server of the week; Tiafoe brings the firepower and shotmaking that thrives on a fast lawn. Both will leave Halle with momentum into the year’s third major.
