Zverev hails Alcaraz’s ability in clutch moments: “He turns into a different person”

Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz have already created memorable moments of utmost intensity on the tennis court in their 11 meetings thus far. The duo added a few of those to their notable rivalry on Friday in a round-robin match at the 2024 ATP Finals in Turin.

The battle nearly touched the two-hour mark as Zverev came out on top, notching a 7-6 (5), 6-4 win to qualify for the semi-finals of the season-ending championship. The result also saw him take a 6-5 lead in their head to heads.

Zverev also levelled his record against the Spaniard this year, a rivalry that began with the German seeing off the 21-year-old in the Australian Open quarter-finals (6-1, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-4).

Alcaraz avenged the loss in style by defeating the 27-year-old in a last-eight fight in Indian Wells (6-3, 6-1) and later in the final of the French Open (6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2).

In Turin, it was Zverev’s turn to turn it up, however, Alcaraz didn’t fade away without spreading his sparkle despite being sick.

“I thought there were some ridiculous points in the end of the tiebreak,” the German said recalling the rallies in his post-match press conference. “Really, I mean, this is the thing about Carlos, he might not be playing, like, at his best, even though I thought he played phenomenal today.

I’m just saying generally sometimes he’s not playing at his best. All of a sudden in the most important moments, he turns into a different person.

The young Spaniard kept Zverev at bay on seven break-point opportunities to force a tiebreaker in the opening set and just when it looked done at 5-2 in the tiebreak, he bamboozled the latter with a splendid pass down the line and a jaw-dropping lob cross court.

“All of a sudden you can’t hit a winner against him,” Zverev added. “All of a sudden he hits every single passing shot on the line. Like, you could put a coin there and he would hit it. That’s what makes him one of the best players in the world. He did that in the tiebreak, as well. He hit two ridiculous passing shots, one forehand and one backhand lob, which were unbelievable. I thought the backhand lob was insane, to be honest.

“To be fair, if I don’t hit probably one of the most ridiculous half volleys that I’ve ever hit at 6-5 in the tiebreak, it goes back to 6-All, then who knows who wins that. He turns into a different person. He really plays his best at the most important moments.”

Zverev nonetheless edged out the Spaniard in the closely-fought tiebreak to win the first set that assured him of a place in the final four of the ATP Finals. Notably, it didn’t end on a straightforward note as the German needed an unforced from Alcaraz, who pushed a volley wide on the second set point.

“After I won the first set, I knew I qualified for the semis,” the world No 2 added. “Obviously there was some joy, some enjoyment there. I think the set point was a bit ridiculous. I definitely enjoyed that one.”

“Thank you Sascha… but I’m not constant in those moments”

Moments after Zverev left the press room of the Inalpi Arena in Turin, Alcaraz thanked his opponent for the kind words in front of the media.

“I’m happy to hear it because I left the court thinking about the opposite thing, that in difficult moments I’m not showing the best tennis,” the world No 3 told Tennis Majors and others. “Thank you, Sascha, if you see this in the video. But yeah, I mean, I’ve played a lot of important moments during the season in a lot of matches. But I feel like, for example today, yeah, the tiebreak I played really good points when I was 5-2 down, for example.”

Alcaraz, however, wasn’t completely satisfied with his efforts, suggesting inconsistency:

“At the same time second set when I had my chances 15-40, first out, 30-40, second ball out. In those moments I feel like I’m not ready to put in a battle. Some matches I have not, let’s say, I’m not constant in those moments. Probably in some matches I’ve played unbelievable points, unbelievable games. But in some matches when the chances is there, I miss a lot. I have to work on it. I have to work to be more consistency.”

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