Alexander Zverev confirms his outstanding form. In the group game of the ATP Finals he defeated Carlos Alcaraz, third in the world rankings, in a high-class match. After the first set against the Spanish tennis star, Zverev was certain that he would be in the semi-finals.
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’m happy when 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.
Zverev’s next opponent is the American 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 ever 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.
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.
Krawietz and Pütz lose a match that has become meaningless
Meanwhile, the German tennis doubles Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz suffered a meaningless first defeat at the end of the group at the ATP Finals. The US Open finalists lost an exciting and hard-fought game against the previously winless Rohan Bopanna/Matthew Ebden (India/Australia) 5:7, 7:6 (8:6), 7:10.
The German duo fended off two match points in the tiebreak of the second set and escaped into the decisive match tiebreak. The two made up for a significant deficit (3:8), but then had to admit defeat on the third match point.
However, Krawietz/Pütz had already made it to the semi-finals of the season finale as the first German doubles team in the 55-year history of the tournament and were already confirmed as winners of their preliminary group. On Saturday, the most successful duo in German Davis Cup history will fight for a place in the final in a new edition of the US Open final against the Australian duo Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson. In September, the German pair lost 4:6, 6:7 (4:7) in New York and missed the Grand Slam title.
