ATP Finals: No title at the end – Zverev feels “empty”

Alexander Zverev left the season finale shuffling and hanging his head after losing the tennis thriller. The world number two ends his complicated tennis year without the happy ending he had hoped for and without the longed-for tournament victory in Turin. The man from Hamburg took his position with his arms crossed after the exciting and hard-fought 3:6, 6:3, 6:7 (3:7) against the American US Open finalist Taylor Fritz. “This might hurt a little more,” the 27-year-old said.

For Zverev it was the fourth defeat in a row against Fritz. He had the feeling that his level was higher than that of the world number five from California. “Until the important moments. Then I kind of blew it.”

No third final for Zverev at the season finale

Zverev triumphed at the ATP Finals in 2018 and 2021. Now he missed his third final in the prestigious year-end tournament for the best eight professionals of the year, which is worth more than 15 million US dollars.

With his convincing performances in the group stage, including a win over the Spanish French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, he had raised hopes of a coup at the end of a season with ups and downs. But as in Wimbledon and at the US Open, Fritz Zverev’s hopes at an important tournament were once again ended.

“Today I felt emptier”

“Yesterday I felt very energetic and somehow full of energy. I was like a bouncing ball that I could move and I could run, no matter how long. Today I felt emptier, especially at the beginning,” Zverev described one day after the “highlight” against Alcaraz. “It was one of those days where everything takes time to get going. Everything is a little more tiring.”

Against Fritz, in the third set it seemed as if the German number one was closer to gaining the decisive advantage. A sticking point, however, was that Fritz fended off three break chances in a row at 2-2. In the decisive tiebreak, the German number one also made mistakes. “I played a below-average tiebreak,” admitted Zverev.

The French Open finalist ends his season without the longed-for first Grand Slam title. He won two Masters 1000 tournaments – in Rome and right before the ATP Finals in Paris-Bercy. He also became number two in the world again this year, making him higher than ever before at the end of the year. When Zverev was asked to comfort him about his world number one spot, a brief smile flashed across his face.

“I played some fantastic matches,” he concluded. Zverev confirmed that it was the first season after his serious foot injury in which he was able to play for titles at the highest level again. But his defeats would remain in his memory. “I will do everything to be in the same moments and in the same position next year. I will do everything I can to win,” he announced.

Still a final with German hopes

The vacation now begins for Zverev. Only doubles players Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz can ensure a German tennis festival at the ATP Finals on Sunday. The Davis Cup double surprisingly reached the final thanks to a strong comeback and a 2:6, 6:3, 11:9 after a match point was saved against the Australians Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson. Krawietz and Pütz were the first German doubles team in the 55-year history of the tournament to reach the semi-finals of the year-end tournament. They topped this success again.

“To be here in the final is something special, absolutely,” said Krawietz: “We try to stick to the routines and prepare well, and then after the final we either celebrate or we celebrate anyway because it was a good end to the tournament. But “Not too much, because we also have the Davis Cup.” The German team will compete in Malaga next week without Zverev.