WATCH: Semifinal action Saturday on Tennis Channel or stream on our app
As for Fritz, he was starting a few spots lower in the rankings than Zverev, but he was in a similar position. In 2024, he made the quarters or better at three of the Slams, and reached his first major final at the US Open. He beat Zverev at Wimbledon and the US Open, and nearly cracked the Top 5 for the first time. His draw in Turin gave him a chance to go up against two opponents, Sinner and Daniil Medvedev, that he had only faced a few times before.
So far, the German and the American have taken full advantage of their opportunities. Zverev went 3-0 in group play, didn’t drop a set, and avenged that Roland Garros loss to Alcaraz. Fritz also played three excellent matches, beating Medvedev, losing a close slugfest to Sinner, and coming back from a set down, when he needed a win, to beat Alex De Minaur.
Fritz leads Zverev 6-5, and he is 3-1 against him in 2024. But he says none of their encounters are ever “easy.”
“I think our games match up well,” Fritz says. “Whoever does certain things better on the day wins. When you have two guys that are big servers playing each other, it can always just come down to a couple points here and there.”
