Both men were battling for a spot in the quarterfinals, with Zverev taking the first set. However, Fils rallied the support of his home crowd to win the second set, leading to what turned out to be a highly-charged final set showdown.
With Fils serving in the third set, Zverev had a 2-1 lead. The umpire called out a serve that the Frenchman had hit near the baseline. Fils, however, contested the call and was successful, therefore it was reversed.
“You’re correct. When Fils came up to the umpire at the net, he stated, “I missed it.”
The 20-year-old, however, was shocked and asked, “How can you miss it?”
In the end, Zverev broke his serve, but Fils would win the point. As a result, Fils became irate during the next game and stopped to yell at the umpire during the intervals between points.
“You are so bad, it’s unbelievable, since the first game I told you, you were so bad,” the Frenchman replied. “And you continue in this manner. Come on, man. Get a little higher.”
After the German lost to Fils at the Hamburg Open in front of his home crowd, Zverev would ultimately win the match in three sets, exacting some sort of retribution.
Leylah Fernandez on her frustrations following her 2021 US Open final run: “There have been some changes in my game that I didn’t want”