Alexander Zverev admitted he felt ’empty’ after his defeat to Taylor Fritz at the Nitto ATP Finals but has sent out a warning message ahead of the 2025 season.
The world number two had been in incredible form all tournament but fell short in a last set tiebreak to the American.
It was a tough defeat for Zverev to take as he stated that he was the better player in the second and third sets, “Here I thought, to be honest, the second and third set I thought I played better than him,” Zverev said in his post-match press conference.
“I didn’t use my chances in the third set at all. I feel like I had more than enough. Played a below-average tiebreak, I would say. A lot worse than what the level was throughout the third set from my end.
“Taylor maybe is not Carlos (Alcaraz) level, but he plays different. He has a lot bigger serve and a lot less rhythm when you play against him. I felt a bit more empty today. Yesterday I felt really energetic and kind of full of energy. I was like a jumping ball that I could move and I could run no matter how long. Today I felt more empty, especially in the beginning.
“The longer the match went on, the better I felt actually. In the beginning of the match I struggled. In the warm-up I struggled as well. It was one of those days where everything, it takes times to get going. It’s like it’s not a natural flow to movement patterns, to your shots as well, to just how you wake up in the morning. Everything is a little bit more tiring. I felt that way today. At the end of the day you’re only going to play the best players in the world here, of course.
“Yesterday against Carlos, it was the highlight of the tournament. Probably the highest-level match that the tournament has seen so far. Unfortunately, I didn’t back it up at the level in the first set. Again, as I said, I thought in the second and third set I did everything to extend maybe better than him, except to win in the important moments, the break points, the tiebreak, yeah. That’s how you lose a match in the end.”
This is now the fourth consecutive time that Zverev has lost to Fritz with defeats also at the Laver Cup, US Open and Wimbledon.
The German spoke about what makes Fritz such an uncomfortable match-up for him in comparison to other players, “Yeah, he’s an uncomfortable player for me. I think it’s no secret. I think there are players that are more comfortable for some opponents and there are players that are less comfortable,” Zverev stated.
“I talked to Carlos about it, which is funny. I mean, I think we have quite a good relationship, quite a good friendship. It’s funny, his very, very comfortable opponents are the complete opposite to me. His uncomfortable opponents are the complete opposite to me, as well. It’s funny how matchups work in tennis.
“For him, I think some of the most comfortable opponents is Daniil Medvedev and Taylor Fritz. For me it’s completely the opposite. He really doesn’t like playing some of the big hitters like a Jannik Sinner. He’s a great player, No. 1 in the world, for sure, but I still enjoy playing him. It’s funny how matchups in tennis work. Not every match is the same just purely based on ranking and the higher-ranked player is going to win. That’s not how it works.
“But yeah, 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.”
Despite the heart-breaking defeat, it’s been an incredible year for Zverev who has won multiple Masters 1000’s, reached a Grand Slam final and will end the year as world number two.
Reflecting on his year Zverev described it as ‘fantastic’ and sent out a warning message ahead of the 2025 season, “I played some fantastic matches. I’ve won 65 matches, something like that. It’s been an interesting year for me, especially after the injury,” the world number two reflected.
“It was kind of my first year completely back competing at this level and competing for big tournaments. I won two Masters events. But what stays in mind I think are the tough losses that you had. What will stay in my mind is the Australian Open loss against Daniil, the French Open final against Carlos. Those are the matches that stay in my mind.
“You can trust me, I’m going to do everything I can to be back in the same moments, in the same position next year. I’m going to do everything I can to win.”
