Four years ago, the German was only two points away from a Grand Slam victory against the Lower Austrian, who is retiring next month, in the US Open final. Four years and 15 majors later, Zverev is still without a major victory. He suffered a 6:7(2),6:3,4:6,6:7(3) defeat against the American Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals.
The 2021 Olympic victory does not console Zverev for the missed opportunity, nor does his very good major record in 2024, with the semifinals at the Australian Open, the final at the French Open and the round of 16 at Wimbledon, where Fritz also ended the game. “But I didn’t win. I’m not interested in any of that,” said Zverev, bitterly disappointed, after his elimination in New York. “I’m 27 years old, I’ll be 28 next year.” He described his performance against Fritz as “bottomless. I have no answers.”
“I haven’t been this angry in a long time”
After leaving the press conference, Zverev left the TV cameras without saying a word and quickly disappeared from the venue. One realization accompanied him on the way back to Manhattan: the time to chase a title at the four biggest tournaments is slowly running out. In the past 25 years, only the Swiss Stan Wawrinka and the Croatian Goran Ivanisevic won their first Grand Slam title at an older age than Zverev currently is. Thiem had just turned 27 four years ago when he triumphed.
In the five-set thriller against Thiem, Zverev still lacked the experience he has today. In 2022, he was stopped by a broken ankle at the French Open, and then the class of Alcaraz and Co. stood in his way. This time, however, Zverev was the favorite, and would have been in the semifinals too. Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic had already said goodbye to the tournament before that. “I haven’t been this angry for a long time. I had no feeling in my racket, zero point zero. It was unbelievable. I don’t know if I’ve ever had such a feeling with my backhand in my career.”
Zverev will move past Alcaraz and Djokovic in the world rankings on Monday. If Daniil Medvedev does not win the tournament, the Russian will become the new second in the rankings, otherwise Zverev. The German has qualified for the season finale at the ATP Finals as the player with the most matches won in 2024. The only thing missing is the Grand Slam title.
