Zverev manages Marozsan 6-3, 7-5 to reach Miami Open semis

It was their first tour-level meeting, and the stakes were high; the semis at a Masters 1000 event. Alexander Zverev a grand slam finalist and two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion, has reascended the rankings following major ankle surgery in 2022. That same year he achieved a career-high ranking of #2 and is currently #5. The twenty-six-year-old from Germany is seeking his first title in Miami having reached the final in 2018 (l. Isner).

Fabian Marozsan from Hungary made news last spring when he took out world #2 Carlos Alcaraz on the dirt at the Masters 1000 event in Rome and continues to impress with two top-ten wins in Miami. The twenty-four-year-old overwhelmed #7 Holger Rune 6-1, 6-1, and the in-form and world #10 Alex de Minaur in three to reach the quarters. In just four events at this level, he has reached the 4th round or better.

Marozsan won the toss and chose to serve. He made 5/5 first serves including an ace up the tee and held to 15 while Zverev made 4/4 first serves including an ace up the tee and held at love to level. 

Marozsan opened the third with a fabulous backhand drop shot but following a slew of unforced errors, faced four break points, and dumped serve. Zverev missed 3/5 first serves yet held to 15 to consolidate the break while the Hungarian hit three winners including another ace for 2-3.

Photo Credit: Juarez Santos

The German opened the sixth with two consecutive forehand winners and though he faced two deuce and break point, held for 4-2 with a monster serve up the tee. Marozsan struck two additional winners including his third ace and held easily to 15 while Zverev serving with new balls, missed 3/6 first serves yet held for 5-3.

Marozsan serving to stay in the set opened with two unforced errors and with two more including his first double fault, conceded the game and set.  

The former world #2 served first in the second and with his second ace held to 15 while Marozsan faced three deuce and break point but with a pair of aces, got on the board. Zverev struck his third ace and held to 30 for 2-1 with an unreturnable serve while Marozsan upped the ante with two aces to level at 2-2.

The 2020 US Open finalist received a time violation and explained to the chair that he was waiting for a gust of wind to pass. In addition, he complained that Marozsan, despite repeatedly not playing to his tempo, had not received a similar warning. Zverev managed to hold with his fourth ace and an unreturnable out wide despite facing two deuce and break point.

Marozsan struck a backhand drop shot and backhand volley winner and held at love for 3-3 while the German crushed a crosscourt backhand to lead 4-3. Marozsan continued to play aggressively often well inside the baseline and with new balls, held to 15 to level while Zverev hit two consecutive winners including his fifth ace to lead 5-4.

The Hungarian serving to stay in the match remained poised despite missing 4/5 first serves and leveled with three outstanding winners including another drop shot and inside-in forehand. Zverev made 5/5 first serves and with an ace out wide, held to 15 for 6-5. 

Marozsan once again served to stay in the match and force the breaker. He opened with an ace up the tee and reached game point but lost serve and the match with four additional errors and a backhand down the line winner from Zverev. After one hour and forty minutes, the world #5 advanced to the penultimate round. 

Despite the scoreline, it was frequently Marozsan who dictated play. The young Hungarian acquitted himself well recording 2 more aces and nine more winners than Zverev. The lone double fault cost him the opening set and his inability to break (0/2), sealed his fate.  

Zverev struck six aces, zero double faults, and won 80% of first and 44% of second serve points. He was equally effective when returning winning 31% of first and 52% of second serve return points. He saved both break points he faced while converting 3/7 and tallied 20 winners to just 5 unforced errors.

Standing in his way of another Miami Open final is either world #2 Carlos Alcaraz or #12, Grigor Dimitrov. While he leads the Spaniard 5-4 in the head-to-head, he lost their last meeting two weeks ago in Indian Wells in straights. Alcaraz went on to win the title and is eager to secure the elusive sunshine double. He leads Dimitrov 7-1 in their head-to-head including all four last season. The thirty-two-year-old Bulgarian’s lone win was in 2014 in Basel on an indoor hardcourt.