ATP year-end tournament: Zverev wins against Alcaraz: First in the group in the semi-finals

Tokyo Olympic champion Alexander Zverev completed a semi-final against his feared opponent at the ATP Finals. At the end of the group phase, the world number two impressed with 7:6 (7:5), 6:4 in a high-class match against Spanish tennis star Carlos Alcaraz. The 27-year-old completed the preliminary round with three wins in three appearances. He has never been so successful in the preliminary round at the season finale.

“Incredibly high level. Especially in the first set at the end in the tiebreak – there were a few points where I thought he was Spiderman again,” said Zverev and concluded: “I’ll be happy if I win.”

In front of 13,000 spectators in the sold-out Pala Alpitour, Zverev was there in the important moments, remained aggressive and won the thrilling duel with the Wimbledon and French Open champion after 1:57 hours. Zverev had already won one set to move into the semi-finals of the ATP Finals for the fourth time after 2018, 2019 and 2021.

The Hamburger extended his season by at least one game and sent a big signal that he can compete for the prestigious title again at the end of a season with ups and downs.

Next opponent Taylor Fritz

On Saturday, Zverev will face the American Taylor Fritz for a place in the final and the chance for his third title at the ATP Finals after 2018 and 2021. Although he will avoid the Italian top seed Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals . But an unpleasant task still awaits. The statistics of the last few months speak against Fritz with three defeats in a row.

At Wimbledon and at the US Open, Zverev was eliminated against the fifth in the world rankings. “I probably should have lost Wimbledon. US Open, could have gone either way, to be honest. A very close match,” commented Fritz. “When you have two guys who are big servers playing against each other, it can only come down to a few points here and there.”

Despite his two confident victories in the first two group games, Germany’s best tennis professional was not yet sure of progress before meeting Alcaraz again. A defeat in two sets would have meant that he would have to tremble in his group until the evening match. There was so much pressure.

Zverev misses his first chances

Both opponents started the game a bit shaky. Zverev caught himself quickly and was closer to a break from the start than the third in the world rankings. In the first two service games of the four-time Grand Slam tournament winner, Zverev had a total of six break points – but was unable to gain an advantage. The seventh chance to take the Spaniard’s serve, which at 6:5 was equivalent to the set point, also remained unused.

The tiebreak was crucial for the first set. With a courageous net attack and a crazy half-volley, Zverev won the first section, celebrated with relief and left Alcaraz perplexed and frustrated. Progression was already perfect.

It was the first meeting with one of his sport’s younger leaders since the dramatic French Open final in June. In Paris, Alcaraz ruined his longed-for first Grand Slam title. That was months ago and a lot has happened since then, Zverev dismissed it.

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 tournament winner from 2024 had to fend off break chances for the first time in the tournament. He freed himself from the tricky situation – and celebrated victory shortly afterwards.