Taylor Fritz beats Alexander Zverev to reach Halle Open final

Taylor Fritz kept up his excellent form against Alexander Zverev with a hard-fought victory in the semi-finals at the Terra Wortmann Open. Playing on the grass courts in Halle, Germany, on Saturday, Fritz won 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-5 to move into the final.

The match lasted two hours and 39 minutes, during which Fritz hit 19 aces and won 87% of his first-serve points. The result snapped Zverev’s 10-match winning streak and improved Fritz’s head-to-head record to 10 wins against 5 losses.

Taylor Fritz shows continued dominance in head-to-head series

The American has now beaten Alexander Zverev in seven straight meetings. This consistent success highlights Taylor

Fritz’s ability to perform well against one of the top players in the game. His powerful serving was key once again, helping him to dictate rallies and apply constant pressure on the German’s service games.

Taylor Fritz after winning the match

After the match, Taylor Fritz gave his assessment of the contest. “I felt like I played a good tie-break [in the first set] and I felt I got a little unlucky with some bounce and he played some really good points and took one on my serve and that was it. I felt like he was struggling with something. I am not sure what it was. I felt like I felt better than he did so that was what I needed to tell myself to go to work.”

Alexander Zverev battles physical discomfort following French Open win

Alexander Zverev came into Halle after lifting his first major trophy at Roland Garros just a few weeks earlier. He hoped to build on that success by winning the home event in Halle for the first time. However, he looked uncomfortable at times and had to receive treatment during the match.

The physical issues seemed to affect his movement and consistency, particularly in longer rallies. Fritz capitalized on these moments to stay in the match and eventually take it.

Key break in third set gives Taylor Fritz the win

Taylor Fritz lost the first set in a tie-break but responded well by taking the second set 6-4. The third set remained close until the 11th game, when Fritz earned a crucial break of serve. He then sealed the victory on his second match point when Zverev netted a forehand volley.

This triumph sends Fritz into his fifth ATP 500 final. He is now one win away from his sixth grass-court title. Among currently active players, only Novak Djokovic has collected more grass titles than Fritz’s potential total.

Taylor Fritz prepares for final

Reaching the final in both Stuttgart and Halle in the same season makes Fritz only the second player to do so since 2015. Roger Federer was the previous player to achieve this when the tournaments were on grass in 2018.

Fritz was aware of the tough competition in the draw this week. “I knew going into this week the field was crazy,” Fritz said on his Halle run. “I looked at the draw when it came out and I wasn’t even a Top four seed in a week with two 500s where Novak, Carlos and Sinner are not even playing... I felt that if I play well on grass, the strength of the field doesn’t matter as much.”

Having already overcome Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals, Fritz will now face Frances Tiafoe or local wild card Daniel Altmaier for the title on Sunday.