World number two Alexander Zverev said he "surpassed his own expectations" by reaching the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters despite fatigue caused by his busy schedule. The 29-year-old German, seeded number one, crashed out in the semifinals on Saturday after a surprise 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 win over Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. It was only Davidovich Fokina's second win in eight meetings with Zverev.
The German, who has already secured a place as world number one, had very little time off between the US Open, Laver Cup and tournaments in Beijing and Shanghai.
“I feel like I've exceeded my own expectations in some ways this week, considering how much tennis I've played,“ said Zverev. “I came into the tournament with a slight injury and some fatigue, so I'm taking it easy to lose to an opponent like him today.“
Zverev struggled with his forehand on several occasions. He got his first break of the match after a magnificent backhand pass from Davidovich Fokina, which the Spaniard used to send the semi-final into a decisive third set.
Zverev lost his serve again and fell behind 0-2 in the third set, after which he was never able to regain control of the match. Thus, the 25th seed Davidovich Fokina qualified for his first Masters final since 2022.
After failing to repeat his quarter-final performance, when he defeated Alex de Minaur in straight sets, Zverev admitted that he had been struggling since his victory over Alexander Bublik in the fourth round, when he had to play a tiebreak in the decisive third set.
“First of all, I am not a robot, I am a human being. I am getting tired”, said Zverev. “After the US Open I only had one day off in total. I think I played a lot of tennis, which is very, very positive because it means I performed well. I think even here I had some tough matches. Personally, I feel that after the match with Bublik I am playing without my usual energy because my strength started to run out. I played a phenomenal match against Alex de Minaur, but today I was without energy. Even in the first set, even though I won it, I was more relaxed, I didn't react well enough. I served quite poorly.
We are all human beings, even the best tennis players in the world.“
The semi-final defeat is a disappointing exception in an otherwise brilliant season for Zverev, who won his first Grand Slam title at “Roland Garros“ in June, and in September she triumphed with a second at the US Open.
In the final on Sunday, Davidovich Fokina will face her compatriot Rafael Jodar.