Admin I Friday, November 15, 2024
TURIN – Alexander Zverev sets an example in the group showdown in Turin. The Hamburg native masters the task against one of the top stars and now wants to end a negative series against an American.
Tokyo Olympic champion Alexander Zverev has made a perfect semi-final at the ATP Finals against his most feared opponent. At the end of the group stage, the world number two impressed with a 7:6 (7:5), 6:4 win in a high-class match against Spanish tennis star Carlos Alcaraz.
The 27-year-old closes the preliminary round with three wins in three appearances. Never before has he been so successful in the preliminary round at the season finale.
‘Incredibly high level. Especially in the first set at the end in the tie-break – there were some points where I thought he was Spiderman again,’ said Zverev and summarised: ’I’m happy when I win.’
In front of 13,000 spectators in the sold-out Pala Alpitour, Zverev was on hand at the important moments, remained aggressive and decided the thrilling duel with the Wimbledon and French Open champion in his favour after 1:57 hours. One set win was enough for Zverev to reach the semi-finals of the ATP Finals for the fourth time after 2018, 2019 and 2021.
The Hamburg native extended his season by at least one match and sent out a strong signal that he can once again compete for the prestigious title at the end of a season of ups and downs.
Next opponent Taylor Fritz
On Saturday, Zverev will now face the American Taylor Fritz for a place in the final and the chance to win his third ATP Finals title after 2018 and 2021. He will avoid the Italian top seed Jannik Sinner in the final round. But an unpleasant task still awaits. The statistics speak against him with three consecutive defeats to Fritz in recent months.
Zverev lost to the world number five at Wimbledon and the US Open. ‘I probably should have lost Wimbledon. The US Open could have gone either way, to be honest. A very close match,’ commented Fritz. ‘When you have two guys who are great servers playing against each other, it can only ever come down to a few points here and there.’
Despite his two commanding victories in the first two group matches, Germany’s best tennis pro was not yet certain of progressing before the reunion with Alcaraz. A defeat in two sets would have meant that he would have to tremble in his group until the evening match. The pressure was on.
Zverev misses his first chances
Both opponents made a somewhat shaky start to the match. Zverev quickly recovered and was closer to a break than the world number three right from the start. Zverev had a total of six break points in the first two service games of the four-time Grand Slam tournament winner – but was unable to gain an advantage. The seventh chance to take the Spaniard’s serve, which equalled set point at 6:5, also went unused.
The tie-break was therefore decisive for the first set. Zverev took the first set with a spirited attack at the net and a crazy half volley, celebrating freely and leaving Alcaraz baffled and frustrated. He had already progressed perfectly.
It was the first encounter with one of the younger leaders of his sport since the dramatic French Open final in June. In Paris, Alcaraz had spoilt his longed-for first Grand Slam title. That was months ago and a lot has happened since then, Zverev denied.
The second set in the eleventh duel with the Spaniard could hardly have started better for Zverev. Zverev immediately took the lead with a break. When he was 3:2 ahead, the two-time 2024 tournament winner then had to fend off break chances for the first time in the tournament. He got out of the tricky situation – and celebrated victory shortly afterwards.
