Alexander Zverev is 6-6 after Novak Djokovic retired against him in the Australian Open semi-final. The German lost his third Major final to Jannik Sinner and experienced another blow, winning only six matches at the next five tournaments.
Thus, the 27-year-old ruined his chances to dethrone the Italian and become the 30th world no. 1 in ATP history. To make things even worse, Alexander was in a good position to win four of the previous five duels he lost, which starts the alarm bells for world no. 2!
Zverev's most recent setback came in the Miami Open fourth round against Arthur Fils. The Frenchman turned the tables at 1-3 in the decider and earned a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory in two hours, sending world no. 2 packing.
Fils toppled Zverev for the second time in five encounters, overcoming a lower back injury and emerging at the top. The young Frenchman produced more efficient numbers behind the second serve. He lost serve two times and seized three of five chances on the return.
Alexander hit more service winners, and Arthur erased the deficit at the net. The younger player attacked and reduced world no. 2 to 13 direct points. The Germanprovided the first break at 4-3 in the opener. He served for the set in game nine and saved a break point.
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The German seized the third set point with an ace, clinching the opener 6-3 in 43 minutes. Fils served well in the second set and kept the pressure on the other side. He grabbed a break at 15 in the second game and served well to maintain the advantage.
Arthur wrapped up the set with a forehand crosscourt winner at 5-3, introducing a decider after an hour and 17 minutes. Zverev stepped in at 2-1 in the final set and drew the rival's mistake for a break and the advantage.Alexander could not maintain the lead.
He played a loose forehand in the fifth game and brought the young gun back to the positive side. Fils claimed the sixth game with an unreturned serve and leveled the score at 3-3. Zverev struggled again in the seventh game.
He sprayed a forehand error to experience another break and find himself 4-3 behind. Arthur cemented the break with a service winner in game eight, opening a 5-3 gap and serving for the win in game ten. He held at 15 to seal the deal in style and send the top seed packing.
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"I have been losing many matches lately without controlling the things on the court. It happened again today. I have to look at myself more than examining my rival's performances. Arthur is very powerful. He can accelerate the pace from almost every part of the court.
I played better than in the previous weeks, but I should not have lost the match from a break up in the decider. I lost four straight games or something like that. I have lost many times from being in a winning position, and I need to work on that with my team," Alexander Zverev said.
