Alexander Zverev showed a strong performance against Jannik Sinner at the ATP Finals, but in the end had to admit defeat to the favorite from Italy 4:6, 3:6.
In the last group game on Friday, Zverev has a real final for the second semi-final place in the Björn Borg group. The Hamburg player will then face Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, who also has a 1-1 record after beating Ben Shelton from the USA 4:6, 7:6 (9:7), 7:5. The winner qualifies alongside Sinner for the round of the best four.
Zverev’s last two duels with Sinner, in the final in Vienna and in the semi-finals of the Masters in Paris, ended with a clear two-set win for the Italian. Zverev still went into the match with confidence, felt fitter than in previous weeks and had gained further self-confidence in the opening win against Ben Shelton.
Zverev aggressive and with strong service – even against Sinner
Zverev tried a similar concept to that against Shelton. Zverev also went into the rallies aggressively against the dominator from South Triol, who had previously won 27 games indoors, playing variably and with good length in his shots. As against Shelton, the Hamburger could rely on his strong serve, 87 percent of the first serves landed in the field, 73 percent led to a point win.
It wasn’t until the tenth game of the first set when the score was 4:5 that things got dicey for Zverev for the first time; it was the worst possible time: twice his forehand was a few centimeters too long. The German number one immediately seemed a bit more passive. Sinner immediately took advantage of this and got two set points. Zverev hit back with two strong first serves, but Sinner attacked the net twice and secured the first set.
Two small phases of weakness cost Zverev the match – Sinner has strong nerves
Zverev only struggled briefly, continued to try to disrupt the Italian’s rhythm and put the favorite in trouble: When the score was 1:1, Zverev got three break points. But Sinner underlined his strong nerves and scored five points in a row, including an ace to win the game. The Italian clenched his fist and took the Tifosi with him in Turin. Zverev kept the pressure high and earned more break points, there were seven in total in the second round. but Sinner always had the better answer – and even overtook Zverev in the aces.
The match was absolutely balanced and at a high level – Zverev continued to demand everything from the Italian, but then again had a small, decisive weak phase: In game six he made a forehand error that enabled Sinner to get the breakball. This time Zverev couldn’t save the serve either, Sinner beat the German and got the break to 4-2 with a perfectly placed forehand stop. The South Tyrolean continued his service and secured the match after 97 minutes.