ATP year-end tournament: Famoser Zverev jokes: “That’s why not number 1”

Relieved of the impressive performance against Carlos Alcaraz and the successful semi-finals at the ATP Finals, Alexander Zverev is in the mood to laugh. Grinning, he answers a question from a young Sky reporter about whether he ever thought he would become such a great tennis player: “I don’t think I’m that great of a tennis player.” The 7:6 (7:5), 6:4 against the Spanish Wimbledon and French Open champion took the pressure of the impending elimination in Turin away from Hamburg and gave him the chance of his third title at the ATP Finals.

As in 2018, 2019 and 2021, the world number two will play in the semi-finals of the year-end tournament for a place in the final and has the chance of a happy ending in the showdown between the best of the year. Zverev, who is still chasing his first Grand Slam title, was correspondingly relaxed – and joked again and again.

Zverev now meets Taylor Fritz

As the undefeated group winner, he is now (still) avoiding the top-seeded Italian Jannik Sinner in Turin. On Saturday (2.30 p.m./Sky) he faces a challenging task against the American Taylor Fritz, immediately after the double semi-final with Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz. The statistics of the past few months speak to Fritz versus Zverev with three defeats in a row.

“I have to look after myself. I have to play good tennis and take advantage of my chances. I haven’t done that in the last few matches,” said Zverev. At Wimbledon, handicapped by a knee injury after falling in the previous round, and at the US Open, Zverev was eliminated against Fritz. The world number five from California reached his first Grand Slam final in New York in September.

“I probably should have lost Wimbledon. US Open could have gone either way, to be honest,” commented Fritz. “When you have two guys who are big servers playing against each other, it can only come down to a few points here and there.”

Zverev doesn’t understand his brother’s signs

Against Alcaraz, Zverev was there in the important moments in front of 13,000 spectators in the sold-out Pala Alpitour. Even if he had problems understanding the advice of his brother Mischa Zverev, who was sitting in the box.

“There were no disagreements or anything. I just asked where I should stand for the second serve. He showed me about 15 different signs,” Zverev explained with a smile, “while the whole stadium was dark. I then went to my father “To keep it simple. He told me to go back on the second serve, which was a great suggestion compared to my brother who threw 48 different sign languages ​​and signs at me.”

Despite his two confident victories in the first two group games, Germany’s best tennis professional was not yet certain of advancing before his first reunion with Alcaraz since the dramatic loss of the French Open final in Paris. A defeat in two sets would have meant that he would have to tremble in his group until the evening match. So there was pressure.

Zverev underpins title ambitions

The tiebreak was crucial for the first set because Zverev was unable to take advantage of his chances with a total of seven break points – one of them at 6:5 and set point. With a courageous net attack and a half-volley, Zverev won the first section, celebrated with relief and left Alcaraz perplexed and frustrated. Progression was already perfect with winning the set.

His volleys are not yet as good as his brother’s, joked Zverev when asked about his offensive urge that was noticeable in Turin. “That’s why I’m not number one in the world, but number two.”

The second set in the eleventh duel with the Spaniard could hardly have started better for Zverev. Zverev immediately took the lead with a break. When he was 3-2 ahead, the two-time tournament winner from 2024 had to fend off break chances for the first time in the tournament. He freed himself from the tricky situation – and celebrated victory shortly afterwards.

“Incredible tennis from both of them in the important moments,” summarized Zverev. “Incredibly high level. Especially in the first set at the end in the tiebreak – there were a few points where I thought he was Spiderman again,” said Zverev. “We showed some really entertaining tennis.”