Frenchman Fils takes out top seeded Zverev

By Harvey Fialkov

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Alexander Zverev seemed in total command as the 6-foot-6 German was up 3-1 in the decisive third set against 20-year-old flashy Frenchman Arthur Fills in a rain-postponed round-of-16 match on Stadium Court Wednesday afternoon at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

But ever since his heartbreaking loss in the Australian Open final to No. 1 Jannik Sinner in January, Zverev, the world No. 2 and top seed here, has been unable to close the deal.

It was no different Wednesday as the 17th-seeded Fils, a powerhouse 20-year-old, who seems to enjoy taking down the top players, began finding the corners with his 95-mph forehands and wicked low backhand slices that were just out of Zverev’s strike zones to win the next four games.

Zverev held for 4-5 but with Fils serving at 40-15, a rally ensued until he ripped a forehand down the line that Zverev could only find net for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory. Fils, who’s at a career-high 18, has won 11 of 14 matches over Top 20 players and is the first Frenchman to reach the Miami quarterfinals since Gael Monfils and Gilles Simon did It in 2016.

“It’s always nice matches when you play against the best in the world,’’ said Fils who’s 2-3 against Zverev including a win in the Hamburg 500 semifinals en route to the most impressive of this three ATP titles. “You have to be ready, have to play your best. That’s what I like to play on the big stadium, I guess against the best players of the world. For now I’m doing it pretty good.”

Fils’ tennis beginnings began on the basketball court, his father Jean-Philippe’s favorite sport, but that wasn’t his cup of tea, so they tried soccer. No good. Next they tried tennis on a makeshift court in Saint Michel Sauvage, south of Paris.

“We brought the net,’’ smiled Fils, who played on this court from 6 to 13-years-old. “No lines on the court. Some grass on the court but you don’t know where it’s from but there was grass. The court was terrible, but it makes me what I am now.”

Fils has a laid-back view of losing to top players, which helps him relax in big moments, like trailing a break in the third.

“I was down 3-1, but I was still feeling good,’’ he said. “I can make it. Just have to play my game and trust the process. If I don’t make it today, it’s all right. If he wins 6-3, it’s Ok. But if I make it there and then I won it, it’s very good as well. And it worked.”

Fils, who punctuates his huge winning groundstrokes with loud roars, produced 25 winners with 35 errors, but won 9-of-10 at the net and won 67 percent of his second serves.

Fils, who was coming off a grueling three-hour victory over American Frances Tiafoe on Monday, will play fellow Next Gen rival Jakub Mensik in a quarterfinal Thursday at 1 p.m., as the Czech has had three days off due to a walkover by Tomas Machac in the fourth round.

“For me now physically it’s a bit tough, so to play back-to-back,’’ Fils said. “It doesn’t really bother me, because I have to play. You have to step on the court and to do what you can. But him, I think he’s feeling fresh, feeling good. He went to the NBA basketball (Heat game) yesterday. The guy is good now.”

Fils joins a host of Hall of Famers 20-year-old and under to reach the quarterfinal of Indian Wells and Miami in the same year. He lost a dramatic three-setter to No. 7 Daniil Medvedev in the quarters at Indian Wells.

For Zverev, he seems to be headed back to the drawing board before embarking on the clay-court swing in Europe. Since the Aussie Open he’s gone 6-5, including losses to players ranked 28, 86, 83, 43 and 20.

“I have been losing a lot of matches where I feel like I was in control lately,’’ Zverev said. “Yeah, it was similar today again. So, I have to look at myself more than anything else. … He’s very powerful. He can accelerate from almost anywhere. But again, I think I have to look at myself more than anything right now.

“I’m up a break in the third, there is no reason for me to lose that match. I go on to lose four games in a row.

“At Indian Wells I’m serving for the match, and Rio I am up 4-1 in the third. In Buenos Aires I was up a set and a break. I’m just losing a lot of matches from a winning position right now. I need to change that.”