By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Thursday, October 31, 2024
Photo credit: Matthew Calvis

Alexander Zverev played demolition man in Paris today.

Zverev smashed 16 aces fending off talented Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to advance to his 31st ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal.

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The 6'6" Zverev is second on the ATP in aces trailing only Hubert Hurkacz and is third on Tour in service games held in 2024 behind only world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini.

The 20-year-old Fils cites three reasons why Zverev's serve is so devastating: height, heaviness and havoc it creates even when you get a racquet on the ball.



Fils said Zverev's height creates a different trajectory that's tough to track and his serves heaviness makes it hard to control returns.

"He's very tall, so it comes from very high," Fils said of Zverev. "It comes very strongly. So you try to anticipate a little bit, to understand what he's doing, but obviously indoors it's different than being on clay.

"If you're not on the track of the ball, you can't return it. If you're on it, it's difficult to control. So this is what makes him one of the best servers. That's the way I see him."