Alexander Zverev and Arthur Fils played a great final at the 2024 Hamburg Open, but their handshake didn’t reflect it.
The two met in the final match of the ATP 500 tournament in Hamburg, which is Zverev’s hometown. His motivation to win the title was high, but it wasn’t meant to be for him, as Fils won the match in three sets to lift the title.
The match was really intense, as it lasted three hours and 34 minutes, and late in the match, some of the tensions started to boil over. After the Frenchman won the first set 6-3, the home crowd favorite responded by winning the second set 6-3, and sending the match into the decider.
Throughout the day, Zverev massively struggled on break point, when he used only one of his 22 chances to break his opponent’s serve, and it was on the 22nd chance that the controversial moment happened.
At 5-5 and 30-40, with Fils serving, the French player hit an underarm serve, which would have resulted in an ace, as the German wasn’t able to catch it, had it not landed a tiny bit wide.
It was this moment that the home crowd didn’t like, as they started booing the 20-year-old player, and with the heavy rain falling on the roof of the court in Hamburg and creating noise that made it difficult to hear the line calls from the umpires, the situation got even more difficult.
It got even as far as the two final protagonists discussing something during the changeover afterward, and it was clear that the match got really heated, with only a few minutes left before the conclusion.
Ultimately, Zverev didn’t have enough to beat his opponent as he lost the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(1). Approaching the net to shake hands, it wasn’t a handshake worthy of a three-hour and thirty-four-minute final, and probably also not the one that Fils expected.
Talking seconds after that handshake, which apparently caught him off-guard, the French player explained why he served underarm and said that the crowd in the German city misunderstood his intentions.
“I did everything to win this match. I got cramps at 5-5 in the third. I’m cramping, trying underarm serves because I can’t serve. The crowd took it badly. I don’t care. I’m winning. And that’s it.”
Despite the handshake, which he clearly wasn’t happy about, given his immediate reaction, the Frenchman spoke highly about his opponent during the same interview.
“Sascha is such a great champion. He’s an unbelievable champion playing unbelievable tennis. Making the final of the French Open. I knew from the start it wouldn’t be easy. First set I was taking care of it. I had a bit of luck but playing great.”
“In the second set he played better than me and raised his level. When they closed the roof, I knew it would be a dog fight. I just had to fight til the last ball. I’ve been practicing for a long time for these kind of moments.”
Ultimately, the frosty situation was seemingly only a short period, as both players nicely addressed each other after the final, and when it came to spraying champagne, Zverev and Fils were already laughing together.
