Alexander Zverev is still successful in Turin, but is still worried about reaching the semi-finals. On Friday there will be an exciting new edition of the dramatic French Open final.
dpa
November 13, 2024 – 10:19 p.m
Turin – Alexander Zverev has the best chance of reaching the semi-finals at the tennis season finale and may still face an exciting group showdown against Carlos Alcaraz. Thanks to an impressively courageous performance, the Hamburg player celebrated a 7:6 (7:3), 6:3 win against Norwegian Casper Ruud in Turin. With strong nerves, Zverev managed the important second victory in the second game and is in an optimal starting position. However, his progression is still not certain.
“I think it was a very good match from both of us. I’m very happy, but it was very, very close,” said Zverev. “Maybe it was even better than the first match. Now I’m looking forward to the Alcaraz match,” said the 27-year-old: “I hope I can keep playing like this. We’ll see what happens this week.”
The decision will be made on Friday when Zverev meets Alcaraz, who is weakened by illness, and Ruud competes against Andrei Rublev. Zverev has to finish his group of four in first or second place in order to continue fighting for the title at the ATP Finals of the eight most successful tennis professionals of the year. The world number two would also reach the final weekend if Rublev won against Ruud.
Zverev plays a strong tiebreak
In his second appearance at this year’s million-dollar event, Zverev appeared determined from the start and played aggressively. The German number one advanced offensively to the net remarkably often. But since Ruud also served brilliantly after previously weak weeks, the Hamburg player was initially far from having a chance to break.
In the first set, the 2021 Olympic champion was constantly chasing a deficit and was in a tricky situation at 4:5 when he served against losing the set. But Zverev withstood the pressure and calmly won his serve game at 5:6. The logical consequence of the set was the tiebreak, which Zverev then dominated with successful volleys.
The second period was also balanced for a long time before Ruud allowed himself a short phase of weakness and Zverev took the chance to break to make it 5:3.
Alcaraz defeated Zverev in Paris for the Grand Slam Triumph
Five months after the dramatic loss of the French Open final and the shattered Grand Slam dream, Zverev sees Alcaraz again for the first time. The Spaniard defied his health problems in his second appearance at the Pala Alpitour and returned with a 6:3, 7:6 (10:8) against the Russian Rublev.
In order to breathe better, Wimbledon winner Alcaraz played with a pink nasal plaster. He hardly felt better than when he lost the start. “Probably a little better, but not too much,” said the world number three, “I tried to forget that I didn’t feel good.”
At the end of a tennis season with a number of health setbacks, Zverev appears fitter than his next opponent. The German number one had said in the past few days that he felt “healthier” and “okay” after his pneumonia, but that his lungs were not yet at 100 percent.
