Alexander Zverev is making his sixth appearance at the ATP Finals, having won in 2018 and 2021. Zverev used his vast experience to good effect against No. 2 Alcaraz, keeping his cool on serve to stage an impressive comeback against his Spaniard.
Zverev aims for third ATP Finals title (Photo: Getty).
"My serve helped me a lot. Saving the break point in the first game of the second set also gave me a good mentality. You don't want to lose a set and lose an early break against the world number two, so I'm very happy with the win today," said Zverev.
Zverev got a break in the third game of the first set, but then he made a mistake and lost the sixth game, allowing his opponent to break to tie the score at 3-3. Alcaraz failed to take advantage of three set-points in game 12 but played well in the tie-break and won 7-3.
In the first game of the second set, Zverev saved a break-point and then took a 2-0 lead with a break in the second game. The German was full of confidence with good service games, leading to a 6-3 victory. In the deciding set, Zverev maintained his impressive serving ability and with a break in the fifth game, he created a turning point to win 6-4.
Alcaraz continues to have poor form (Photo: Getty).
Zverev won 79% (59/75) of the points in his first serve, the 27-year-old fell and hurt his left ankle in the third set, but when he returned he still played convincingly to win after 2 hours and 32 minutes.
Zverev missed last year's ATP Finals due to a right ankle injury he suffered in the 2022 Roland Garros semi-final against Rafael Nadal. The German was seen treading cautiously in the match after a fall damaged his left ankle.
The German said of the fall: "I didn't twist my ankle, I just slipped. It hurt for a while and I don't think there was any major damage. I hope it's okay, we'll see but it doesn't look like what happened in Paris."
Medvedev wins against Rublev (Photo: Getty).
In the other match of the Red Group, Daniil Medvedev played two high quality sets to win 6-4, 6-2 against Andrey Rublev.
The two players gave the Turin crowd a spectacular, tense match. Medvedev saved seven break points in the opening set, all in his final two service games, and then dominated from the start in the second set.
"I felt good and tried to show it on the court," Medvedev said after the match. "The first set was really difficult. I tried to dominate in the most important moments and that helped me in the second set, so I'm really happy with the win today."
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