That was a pretty bitter demonstration: Alexander Zverev missed the final at the ATP Masters in Paris – he had no chance against superstar Jannik Sinner.
The South Tyrolean won the semi-final game against Hamburg 6:0 and 6:1. This was surprising from two perspectives. Most recently in the final in Vienna, Zverev Sinner was on the verge of defeat, narrowly losing the match six days ago 6:3, 3:6 and 5:7. And the day before in the quarter-finals against his feared opponent Daniil Medvedev, Zverev was extremely strong and in form, fended off two match points and turned the game in his favor.
Ankle joint problems
But Zverev was miles away from a similar coup on Saturday. Sinner dominated from the first rally, letting the German run a lot and barely getting into a position from which he could use his strong groundstrokes. But the man from Hamburg didn’t seem really fit either; the Medvedev match apparently took a lot more out of him than expected.
Zverev’s fatigue was particularly noticeable in his footwork. The timing was off on many baseline shots. When the 28-year-old gave up his serve again in the second set to make it 1:2, the doctor came onto the court. “My ankle is swollen”said Zverev and demanded painkillers. By the time the effect occurred, the match was virtually over.
Auger aliases or Bublik
The other semi-final will be contested by Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime and Alexander Bublik from Kazakhstan. Both are still fighting for the last available ticket for the ATP Finals of the eight best professionals of the tennis year in Turin (November 9th to 16th), for which Sinner and Zverev have long since qualified.