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Alexander Zverev & Arthur Fils Squash Beef With Champagne Shower

Alexander Zverev and Arthur Fils ended their feud with a champagne shower at centre court.

Pat Benson

Alexander Zverev and Arthur Fils squashed their beef.
Alexander Zverev and Arthur Fils squashed their beef. / Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

Alexander Zverev's struggle to win a finals match continued on Sunday. Arthur Fils, playing in the biggest match of his young career, upset Zverev in the Hamburg Open final: 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-1).

The seminal moment of the match came in the final set with the score 5-5, and Fils a break point down. Fils went with a controversial underarm serve, angering Zverev.

It really did not matter as the serve was out, but the crowd booed Fils, and Zverev stewed on the opposite end of the court. The animosity continued during the changeover, with fans clearly taking the side of their hometown hero.

The three-and-a-half-hour match culminated with a frosty handshake at Centre Court. Tennis fans quickly reacted to videos of a very brief handshake between the two competitors at the net.

However, it did not take long for the heated emotions to subside. After Fils and Zverev both spoke, the former helped shower the latter in champagne to celebrate the most important win of his career.

Fils described the marathon match as a "dogfight." He said, "You just have to fight until the last point, until the last ball. I think that I'm practising since a long time for this kind of moment so I'm really happy to win it."

Yesterday was Fils' second title, first 500 title, and fourth top-10 win. The 20-year-old Frenchman has a promising future. Meanwhile, Zverev continues to try to get over the hump. Tennis fans can follow Sports Illustrated'sServe on SIfor all the most important news from the sport.

Further Reading: Rafael Nadal's finals run falls short in Bastad.

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Pat Benson

PAT BENSON

Pat Benson covers the sneaker industry for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Previously, he has reported on the NBA, authored "Kobe Bryant's Sneaker History (1996-2020)," and interviewed some of the biggest names in the sports world. You can email him at 1989patbenson@gmail.com.

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