Dream final at the BOSS OPEN
Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz, the two top-seeded players at Stuttgart's Weissenhof, have battled their way into the final – so spectators can look forward to an absolute dream final on Sunday at 12 noon. The last time the two top seeds made it to the final at Weissenhof was in 2012, back then still on clay.
In his fourth appearance in Stuttgart, Alexander Zverev made it to the final for the first time. He defeated the young American Ben Shelton in two sets, 7-6 (8), 7-6 (1). Zverev had two break points in the first set, which Shelton was able to fend off. In the tiebreak, the Hamburg native was already leading 6-3, but despite two serves of his own, he still had to accept the equalizer. After defending a set point for the American, Zverev finally converted his fifth set point.
The second set was very similar. This time, Zverev – who did not allow a single break point in the entire match – had four chances to break his opponent's serve, but each time Shelton, who will enter the world's top 10 for the first time in his career on Monday, managed to escape. In the tiebreak, Zverev didn't let anything slip this time, quickly pulling ahead 6-0 and finally sealing the deal 7-1.
Fritz also through in two sets
Taylor Fritz prevailed in two sets, 6-4, 7-6 (5), against Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. The match was characterized by strong serves, with only one break in the entire match. The American managed to do so at just the right moment. With the score at 5-4 in Fritz's favor, Auger-Aliassime faltered for the first time on his own serve, and Fritz struck coldly, converting the first opportunity that presented itself to break and win the set.
In the second set, both players held their serve, Auger-Aliassime fended off a break point, and the set went to a tiebreak, where the tournament's number 2 seed prevailed 7-5. Auger-Aliassime thus missed out on his third BOSS OPEN final, while Fritz is in the final at Weissenhof for the first time.
Dream final
Due to the poor weather forecast, Sunday will see the dream final between the two top-seeded players at the BOSS OPEN start at 12 noon. Zverev is looking forward to “my first grass court final since 2017. I'm happy to be playing in a final in Germany.”
The head-to-head between the two stands at 7:5 in favor of BOSS brand ambassador Fritz, with the last four matches all going to the American, who nevertheless warns: “It was very close every time, a few points decided the outcome, and it could have gone the other way at any time.”
Zverev was a little surprised to reach the final after putting in extra training sessions before and after his matches during the week: “At the beginning of the week, I told tournament director Weindorfer not to expect too much. And now I'm in the final. I'm really looking forward to the match. It will definitely be difficult, but hopefully very interesting and exciting for the spectators.”
If he wins the final, Zverev would be the first German winner in Stuttgart since Michael Stich in 1991.f