Zverev overcomes Marozsan to reach last four at Miami Open
The German was too strong for Marozsan, coming through 6-3, 7-5 amid blustery conditions in Miami to reach his 17th Masters 1000 semi-final
Alexander Zverev, Miami Open, 2024 Panoramic / Panoramic
Alexander Zverev ended the spirited resistance of Fabian Marozsan, beating the Hungarian 6-3, 7-5 to reach the semi-finals of the Miami Open.
It was a tale of two sets for Marozsan, who has put together another eye-catching run at a Masters 1000 event to further underline his credentials as a future leading player.
Ultimately, however, Zverev had too much quality for the Hungarian – particularly on serve – as he successfully reached his 17th Masters 1000 semi-final with a professional performance that was reflective of the German’s greater experience.
Zverev on Marozsan : “He’s playing unbelievable tennis”
“I have been feeling well the whole week so far”, Zverev said after the match. “I thought (Marozsan) was my toughest opponent today, to be honest. I played some guys ranked inside the top 20 already, and I felt like he’s playing unbelievable tennis. I moved well, I did some other things well, as well, otherwise it would have been extremely tough”.
A slow start from Marozsan proved costly, as Zverev broke in the third game of the opening set to set the tone for the remainder of the contest. The German broke again in the ninth and final game to take the first set 6-3 with few questions being asked by his opponent.
However, Marozsan’s quality was on show throughout the second set as he demonstrated his deft touch with frequent use of exquisite drop-shots – almost always to excellent effect.
zverev takes a close second set against an improved marozsan
The Hungarian did well to fight off some early pressure from Zverev at the start of the second, saving a break point en route to holding a tough opening service game as he began to make further inroads on the Zverev serve.
One big issue for Marozsan was Zverev’s clever use of his potent serve out wide, which was a recurring theme throughout the match, with the Hungarian struggling to get any purchase on such a wide-angled, out-swinging delivery.
Nevertheless, the world No 57 was putting pressure on the German, finding ways to more frequently navigate his way to deuce on Zverev’s serve.
All this came to nothing, however, as Zverev sucker-punched the Hungarian from out of the blue, breaking Marozsan in the twelfth game as a tiebreak had looked inevitable. Making himself vulnerable after a weak second-serve delivery, Marozsan was left stranded as a backhand down the line from Zverev sealed the win on his first match point.
“He played very well today,” Marozsan said after the match
“Huge serves. He didn’t miss the ball from the backhand side, so he played very good today. I tried to to play my game, but he didn’t give me any space or time to to to play what I wanted to do today.
“It was a great two weeks for me. I’m just very happy to play on the highest level, so I’m just happy with the results here.”
Zverev’s progression leaves the semi-final line-up in Miami almost complete. Should Carlos Alcaraz beat Grigor Dimitrov in their last-eight encounter, then it would mean the top four seeds have all made it through to the last four.
Zverev will face the winner of that one next, and his business-like performance gave the strong impression that he is in Miami this year to make a statement after nearly three years since his last title at this level.
For Marozsan, perhaps some what-ifs regarding the course the match may have taken had he been able to exert his second-set form on Zverev for a longer period of time.
In the end, though, the Miami Open 2024 is another great success story for the 24-year-old as he continues to demonstrate his impressive Masters 1000 prowess.
