Olympic champion Alexander Zverev surprised at the start of the ATP Finals in Turin.
Alexander Zverev extended his arms and greeted the Turin audience: the Olympic champion disappointed Carlos Alcaraz at the start of the ATP Finals.
The 26-year-old player from Hamburg defeated the second seed from Wimbledon from Spain 6:7 (3:7), 6:3, 6:4 and decisively opened the door to the semi-finals.
“I’m happy to be back here. I missed it a lot last year”said Zverev after his surprising success. Zverev had to miss due to injury in 2022. “I knew I had to serve well today. I did it. I’m happy to have my first win under my belt.”said Zverev, who scored 16 aces.
Strong service as a base.
The winner of the 2018 and 2021 tournament, who beat Alcaraz with a brutal serve and a better balance between risk and safety, will face the Russians Daniil Medvedev and Andrej Rubléw in the group stage. The first two advance to the semifinals.
Medvedev, ranked third in the world, won his first match against Rublew on Monday afternoon 6:4, 6:2 and at times made a great impression.
“I hope it will be a long tournament for me,” Zverev said after the match, but he also wanted to be cautious: “With Medvedev and Rublew I still have two very serious opponents in front of me. I have to stay.” Absolutely focused to be able to move forward.”
Zverev began the prestigious annual results as a clear outsider. The participation in itself can be considered a success in the year of return after the serious foot injury.
“Just enjoy it”
“I just enjoy being among the eight best players in the world and being able to compete with them”he had said before the start at the Pala Alpitour, knowing that the tournament suits him: hard court, indoor without influences from the outside wind, two sets.
He also showed it against Alcaraz, who had already clearly demonstrated the limits of the best German player twice this season. Both in the round of 16 of the Madrid Masters and in the quarterfinals of the US Open The current world number seven, German, did not win a single set.
Alcaraz with unusual weaknesses
In Turin, however, Zverev created his chances early on with good serving and an initially lower error rate than Alcaraz, but then missed four break points when the score was 3:3. Then the Spaniard, who had been a little weak in recent months, suddenly appeared and showed the class of him.
At the beginning of the second round, Alcaraz lost his sovereignty again, made simple mistakes and Zverev quickly took the lead to 3-0. With three aces in one game he finally sealed the victory in the set.
Autumn creates a moment of shock
In the third set, Zverev caused a shocking moment: he fell and briefly reminded the spectators of his injury in Paris. “For a while it was a headache. But you can’t compare it to Paris.” Zverev said.
In short, the fall should have no consequences: “I didn’t sprain my ankle, I just slipped a little. I have a little pain in my Achilles tendon. But I don’t think it’s anything serious.”Zverev continued.
Zverev now has a day off on Tuesday before things get serious again on Wednesday.