Alexander Zverev’s US Open campaign came to an end after his defeat against American No.1 Taylor Fritz in the quarter-final. But despite his loss, the World No.4 successfully managed to win the hearts of tennis fans with just a single shot.
Zverev did a Rafael Nadal during the fourth game of the second set of the match when both he and Fritz were at 15-15. While engaging in a rally off Fritz’s serve, both players tried their best to grab an opportunity to get the upper hand and take a lead in the game.
Fritz smartly put Zverev in a tough spot as he sent the ball to the German’s right when the latter was already at the left corner. However, after constantly running to both sides of the court to not let the ball drop for a while, the German managed to stun his opponent as well as the crowd with a ‘banana’ shot.
The shot was eerily similar to Nadal’s 2019 US Open one as Zverev managed to send the ball spinning from around the net. The ball’s speed along with Zverev’s masterstroke left the American baffled while the German celebrated his shot with the crowd by sending both his arms in the air.
The US Open social media page was all praise for Zverev after his spectacular shot and uploaded the video, terming the German as ‘Alexander the great’, based on the great Greek warrior.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT! pic.twitter.com/p4wPZXhPsu
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 3, 2024
Many fans also have dubbed Zverev’s banana shot as the shot of the tournament so far.
Shot of the tournament!
— DexWin Sportsbook (@DexWin_Sports) September 3, 2024
Great
— Atheist World (@Atheist_52) September 3, 2024
Master class
— Abhinav Akula (@abhinavshakes1) September 3, 2024
Incredible
— Niroshan$Don (@niroshan682) September 3, 2024
Few would have predicted that any player would have been able to replicate Nadal in that fashion. During the last set of the Spaniard’s 2019 US Open contest against Marin Cilic, the Croatian tried to confuse him by hitting a volley closer to the net while he was far away on the baseline.
However, anticipating his opponent’s move, Nadal already started running towards the net. The Spaniard went out of the court to strike the ball with so much power that it passed the net pole and landed out of Cilic’s reach on his side of the court.
It is considered to be one of the most iconic shots of all time and now with Zverev pulling it off beautifully, the list has another addition. While Nadal won that match and also the title, Zverev would not have that honor in his name this year.
The German’s barren run at the US Open continues while Fritz made it to his first-ever Grand Slam semi-final.
