Andy Murray may not be making dinner reservations with Alexander Zverev anytime soon, but no one understands better the transformative effect that winning the Olympics can have on a player’s self-belief. Within weeks of claiming the first of his two gold medals in 2012, Murray went on to lift his first grand slam title at the US Open. Zverev, who succeeded Murray as Olympic champion with his victory in Tokyo this summer, has yet to scale such heights, but the confidence he has drawn from landing the biggest title of his career so far is evident.
Since his triumph in the Japanese capital, Zverev has won the Cincinnati Masters, reached the semi-finals of the US Open and contributed to an emphatic success for Team Europe in the Laver Cup. The German has now won 19 of his 20 matches since Wimbledon, and Murray, his latest victim, was unable to arrest the world No 4’s momentum despite breaking early in both sets of his 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) defeat.
Murray, who has urged the ATP to investigate allegations of domestic abuse levelled against Zverev by his former girlfriend Olga Sharypova – allegations that Zverev has consistently denied – admitted before the match that he and the German are not the best of friends and “don’t really chat a lot”. Zverev, meanwhile, who has welcomed the ATP’s recent announcement that there will indeed be an internal inquiry into Sharypova’s claims, spoke of wanting to beat Murray to complete a full house of victories over the traditional big four.
Against this backdrop, there was little love lost between the two men. Murray began the match by trying to unsettle Zverev, standing well inside the baseline to return a second serve he had described as “a bit flaky sometimes”, and ended it by nailing a short ball straight at the German. In between, he got into his opponent’s head sufficiently for Zverev to miss a pair of almost comically poor overheads as he served for the match at 6-5, but the world No 4 ultimately held firm, showing sharp reflexes to fend off Murray’s final attack and seal the win.
“The match was very high level,” said Zverev, who will face Gael Mofils for a place in the last eight. “Andy was so aggressive, it was incredible, I haven’t seen him play this aggressive in a long time, and I think that’s why the match turned out this way.”
Murray, who slammed his racket to the floor in disgust after losing the final point and, having offered his opponent a tepid handshake, walked off court screaming to himself in frustration, gave short shrift to the notion that he had performed with anything approaching distinction.
“I don’t think I played well today,” said Murray, who will slip roughly 50 places from his current ranking of 121 following the defeat. “I mean, there were a lot of mistakes. There was some good stuff in there, but it was mixed in with bad. There was no sort of consistency, I don’t think. My average level was just not really there today. It was either good or bad. I wouldn’t put that down as playing really well.
“The positive for me to take from it is I obviously had opportunities again. I mean, I guess that’s positive. I didn’t feel like I played a great match, and still had chances, so that’s positive.
“But I’m disappointed, because I obviously want to be winning these matches. I haven’t in the last few months. Something needs to change.”
A more generous appraisal, following a run that has seen Murray reach the third round of a Masters series event for the first time in five years, would be that the former world No 1’s body appears to be holding up better to the rigours of top-flight tennis than at any previous stage since his return from hip surgery. He has demonstrated an ability to compete with the world’s best again, and while his shot selection in key moments may not yet be all that he would wish, his recent performances suggest a pattern of steady improvement.
“This is physically the best I’ve felt for a while,” Murray acknowledged. “I’m sort of battling my game a little bit. The consistency isn’t there. I don’t know, the decision-making is not great in the important moments still.
“I think a lot of that comes with confidence, and also how you’re feeling about your game and your shots. I think if you’re not quite feeling your shots that well, are not sure how the ball’s going to come out of your racket sometimes, that’s when there’s a little bit of indecision, that split-second decision, you sort of maybe change your mind or whatever, and that’s when the mistakes can come.
“I guess [it’s a] case of getting through some of those matches, just keep building, and hopefully – with some more wins – getting back to winning in the latter stages of these events, and that will improve.”
Elsewhere, fifth seed Matteo Berrettini suffered a 6-4, 6-3 defeat against Taylor Fritz. The Californian will face another Italian, Jannik Sinner, in round four. “He’s a really good player,” said the 39th-ranked Fritz of sometime practice partner Sinner. “I kind of like the ball he hits, the pace he gives me. I think he does too. You know, whenever we practise, it’s always very back-and-forth, big hitting. I think it’s going to be a lot of that in our match. I think I’m going to have to be aggressive, serve well. It’s going to be a lot of side-to-side, big hitting.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas, the second seed, recovered from a set down to defeat Fabio Fognini 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Carnage continues as Swiatek, Krejcikova and Svitolina fall
Big names continued to tumble in the women’s draw, where Iga Swiatek was beaten by Jelena Ostapenko in the battle of the former French Open champions. Ostapenko, who beat Swiatek 6-2, 6-0 in the only previous meeting between the pair, recovered from a break down in both sets to oust the Polish second seed.
“I think I played very well,” said Ostapenko following her 6-4, 6-3 win. “I didn’t give her any chances to play, because I think I was playing very aggressive and took the time away from her so she couldn’t do much against me.
“That was the plan, just to play my game and be aggressive, and I think I did it pretty well today.”
The Latvian will play Shelby Rogers in the last eight after the American defeated Leylah Fernandez, the US Open finalist and 23rd seed, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4). In a tense finale, Rogers held her nerve after missing a match point at 6-5 to edge a magnificent contest.
Paula Badosa continued the carnage with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Barbora Krejcikova, the French Open champion and third seed, while Jessica Pegula earlier put out Elina Svitolina, the fourth seed, who received treatment for a thigh injury en route to a 6-1, 6-1 reversal.
Badosa will play Angelique Kerber, the 2019 finalist and former world No 1, for a place in the last four. The 15th-ranked Kerber is the highest seed remaining following Beatriz Haddad Maia’s defeat of top seed Karolina Pliskova on Tuesday.