Alexander Zverev overcomes bad fall to defeat Taylor Fritz in Rome

In a battle of two players who can smash the ball but also move around the court with ease, there is likely one reason Alexander Zverev might be a notch above Taylor Swift's ability if both are healthy. That would be that Zverev hits with more consistency from both wings and his metronome-like shots are too much for Fritz.

This is especially true on clay where the two had never played each other until the quarterfinals of the Italian Open on Wednesday.

The match was literally not easy for Zverev. He might have had a bit of PTSD from a fall that he had on clay in 2022 when he suffered a serious ankle injury that required surgery. During the first set against Fritz, Zverev hit a shot and attempted to run toward the baseline, and fell forward. The fall caused him to suffer several cuts on both arms and hands and he was bleeding quite a bit.

Alexander Zverev defeats Taylor Fritz at the Italian Open

He took only a short break as the physio came out to see him and helped with the cuts and his form did not drop at all. He simply went back on the court and helped Fritz beat himself. The American did not play poorly, he simply was not as consistent as the German.

Plus, Zverev's serve is extremely underrated. He is not going to lead the ATP tour in aces; that is not what he is trying to do. Instead, Zverev lands his first serve in more than 75 percent of the time and keeps his opponent off-balance. Fritz had few chances to break the German because the stress of having to play against first serves.

Meanwhile, Zverev was able to break Fritz three times, including a game to close out the match. Zverev won 6-4 6-3 in a match that was closer than the score. The American has improved on clay, but Zverev is simply better on the surface. Now Zverev will play in the semifinals against Alejandro Tabilo. Tabilo took out Novak Djokovic easily earlier at the Italian Open.

More tennis news and analysis