ATP Finals: Zverev powers past Alcaraz to qualify for semis; Spaniard’s fate in Rublev’s hands
The Spaniard needs Andrey Rublev to beat Casper Ruud in straight sets to even stand a chance of making he last four
© Image Sport / Panoramic
German Alexander Zverev beat Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (5), 6-4 in Turin on Friday to qualify for the semi-finals of the ATP Finals. The result meant Alcaraz’s fate in the season-ending championship now depends on Andrey Rublev’s efforts against Casper Ruud, the No 6 seed, in the final round-robin match of the John Newcombe Group.
Zverev, on the other hand, ensured he remained unbeaten in the group with his straight-set win over Alcaraz. He will play American Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals.
“You won too much against me this year,” the German told the Spaniard during a warm exchange at the net.
“He beat me too many times this year in important matches so I’m happy that I got this one,” Zverev continued in his on-court interview. “Obviously we have a pretty good rivalry with a great friendship as well so it’s always nice to play against him, except when he beats me, that’s not nice but he’s a great guy and I’m looking forward to the next match with him as well.”
Zverev and Alcaraz stepped on the court with their head-to-head tied at 5-5 overall but the latter had two wins to his name in their three meetings, including the French Open final, in the 2024 season.
Set 1: Zverev takes the lead despite EARLY missed chances
Zverev kept Alcaraz on his toes right from the word go as he came close to breaking the Spaniard’s serve six times in the first four games but failed every time. Meanwhile, was unchallenged on serve, recording an average of 81 percent on the first-serve landings, however, producing a double fault in the ninth game.
The tenth game saw Alcaraz hold serve and stay in the set before his opponent held again. Zverev created another opportunity to break and consequently take the set but couldn’t find a way through the Spaniard’s defence.
The German eventually registered two mini breaks in the tiebreak to go up 5-2 but the French Open and Wimbledon champion began a fightback by recovering those mini breaks in the two points that followed. Alcaraz lost one more point on his serve with a careless return that landed long, ultimately allowing Zverev to take the set to seal his place in the semi-finals.
The youngster, meanwhile, ended up hurling his racquet on to his kitbag as former US Open champ Dominic Thiem watched on from the stands.
Set 2: Alcaraz pushes hard but Zverev prevails
The second set began with Zverev breaking Alcaraz’s serve in the first game. The two then remained on serve until the conclusion, with the Spaniard leaving everything on the court in what proved to be the last game of the match.
The 21-year-old peppered the German’s baseline on return but misfired backhand cross court which was enough for Zverev to serve out the match after nearly two hours of tussle.
The winner fared better than Alcaraz in every department, hitting nine aces and 29 winners against the latter’s six and 26. The Spaniard also committed 34 unforced errors, nine more than the German.
Alcaraz, who has been battling sickness in Turin, now needs Andrey Rublev, the No 8 seed to win against Casper Ruud in straight sets to stand any chance of moving through to the semis. If Ruud wins a set he would pip Alcaraz and join Zverev in the semi-finals.
Alcaraz: “Today it was difficult to find his weakness”
“It is difficult to play against a player who has a really big serve, from the baseline is really, really tough, really solid,” Alcaraz said of Zverev. “You feel like when you’re serving, you feel an extra pressure because almost he puts every return in, he makes you play long rallies. Then when you’re returning, he’s able to do it again with four big serves.
“You’re playing with an extra pressure, let’s say, when you’re playing against these kind of players. It’s really tough, even tougher when he has a lot of confidence.
“Probably every player has their weakness. Zverev, he has a better backhand than the forehand. Today it was kind of, like, both shots were equal. It is really difficult to find the hole. It was very difficult to find his weakness side.”
