Alexander Zverev has secured a place of honor in the blue-lit Piazza Carlo Alberto in the middle of Turin‘s old town. Always in a duo, the faces of two tennis players are projected onto the facade of the National Library on Thursday evenings. It is completely clear who the main focus is: Jannik Sinner, world number one, celebrated Italian sports hero, trigger of a nationwide boom for small, yellow felt balls in Turin in focus. He is therefore of course the last to be shown in oversize. Next to him, however, is not his last most intense rival – the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz – but the player who will probably be Sinner’s biggest challenge in Turin.
With a victory at the Masters tournament in Paris last week, Zverev managed to once again secure the place right next to the tennis throne. As world number two, he will take part in the ATP final tournament for the best eight players in the world rankings next week, a position he last held for a few weeks in September and a phase in 2022. Zverev is the first of a whole group of pursuers of the currently extremely dominant Sinner, who even the resumption of his doping trial by Wada does not seem to put him out of step. And as you could see on Thursday evening, Zverev feels extremely comfortable in this role as the leader of the pursuers.
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The best eight in the final tournament were divided into two groups of four, with two professionals qualifying for the semi-finals. Zverev plays in the John Newcombe group named after the Australian tennis legend against Alcaraz, Casper Ruud and Andrej Rublew. The quartet also attended the opening press conference, which took place in a magnificent hall of the Museo del Risorgimento, with Zverev as group leader – and immediately addressed the question that always surrounds the final tournament in Turin.
“When we start the year, the main goal is always to qualify for the final here,” said Zverev and started to laugh. Alcaraz next to him had already smiled at the question and thus infected the others, and ultimately also Zverev, because players, journalists and presumably even the former King of Sardinia-Piedmont Carlo Alberto, under whose gigantic painting this tennis press conference took place, know about it true significance of this year-end tournament.
In Turin, tennis balls have replaced Christmas decorations in shops
Of course, the ATP Finals can be seen clearly behind the four Grand Slam tournaments. Some tournaments in the Masters series are probably more important for the players, such as the American events in Indian Wells and Miami or the prestigious tournaments in Monte Carlo or Rome in the spring, where Zverev won this year. The finals in Turin, on the other hand, are of great importance mainly for the ATP, which acts as the responsible organizer here. The tennis association is lucky that the choice of location in northern Italy coincides with a tennis boom and an Italian number one.
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On the one hand, you can compensate for the fact that after Novak Djokovic’s cancellation, none of the so-called big three will play for the first time since 2001. And on the other hand, under the impression of Sinner, a certain enthusiasm is also transferred to the location. You can almost see the enchanting city at the foot of the Alps feeling enormous joy in its role as host to the big tennis world. In stark contrast to the women’s finals, which are taking place this week in front of poor crowds in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, there are only remaining places available over the course of the week. Across Turin, tennis balls and rackets in shops have once again replaced the beginning of Christmas decorations as leitmotifs.
Outside the court in the evening, hundreds of people were still patiently waiting in the cold for autographs, while the tennis players inside had returned to some seriousness. Zverev had a serious answer ready when asked about the importance of this tournament, which he won in 2018 and 2021: “It is special that you are playing against one of the best players in the world at the start,” he said and spoke up Mental problem: “At the beginning of Grand Slams, I too often play unnecessary, long five-set matches against players I shouldn’t play five sets against. That costs me energy. Here I know that I have to be focused from the first point. It motivates me to play my best tennis against the best.”
It was an interesting insight at the end of Zverev’s tennis season with some highs, but the shortcoming of still missing a Grand Slam title. Even another tournament victory next week would not change the overall balance, and the prestige of the ATP finals is not enough. Despite all the great enthusiasm in the city, Turin remains a stopover for Zverev: the next chance to finally complete his career won’t come until January in Melbourne.
