Zverev lands a "big victory" instead of an ambulance
Alexander Zverev is an expert when it comes to the World Tennis Championships: the German tennis pro has already won the ATP Finals twice and is now celebrating a major victory at the start of the current edition. And defied the shock and his own record of horror.
For two hours, the spectators at the Pala Alpitour in Turin had already seen a breathtaking match, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev had driven each other into the third set at the ATP Finals of the best tennis pros with great quality and drama, when the arena collectively froze within a second: superstar Alcaraz had won the first set 7:6, Zverev hit back in the second.
Then, after his break for 3:2 in the deciding set, Zverev fell down and grimaced. And there was probably no one among the 12,000 people in the huge arena who didn't have images of Zverev screaming in his head from the summer of 2022, when he shredded the ligaments in his right foot in an epic duel against Rafael Nadal in Paris and the German's dreams of winning his first Grand Slam and topping the world rankings were shattered with a bang.
But this time Zverev quickly picked himself up again. Unlike back then, when he had to be driven off the court in a wheelchair: "I quickly gave the signal that everything was okay and that I didn't have to go home in an ambulance again. Many people know my history. My injury happened at Roland Garros. Not at some 250 tournament somewhere, but on one of the biggest stages in the world," said Zverev. "Maybe that was a bit of the reason for the reaction." After his terrible accident, Zverev never returned to the court. He didn't play a match at all in 2022 and struggled almost forever after his comeback, at times with growing desperation, to return to his old class. Roland Garros was followed by an absolute horror year. Pain, rehab, setbacks. Zverev dropped to 27th place in the world rankings.
"A great honor"
However, he quickly returned to the match after the shock. "Fortunately, I didn't twist my ankle, but slipped a little. I don't think it's a problem," said Zverev after finishing the match: 6:7, 6:3, 6:4 in the end, Zverev had defeated Carlos Alcaraz. Just like at Roland Garros, when Zverev was at the peak of his game and just before everything came to a halt in one bitter moment. Zverev put in a strong performance against the 20-year-old high-flyer, hitting 16 aces, dominating with a finely balanced mixture of tactical confidence and cracking risk and producing few unnecessary errors. A performance with which the two-time world champion, who ultimately narrowly qualified for the rendezvous of the year's best professionals, was able to open the door to the semi-finals surprisingly wide.
However, Zverev should no longer surprise anyone at the ATP Finals: the world number seven has never been the favorite, not in London, where the tournament was held until 2020, and not in Turin either. And yet he has already won twice: in 2018 and 2021. The hard court suits the German, as does the atmosphere. Last year, he had to miss Roland Garros due to injury. "I just enjoy being one of the eight best players in the world and being able to compete with them," said Zverev with a view to the highlight tournament: "It's a prestigious event, an honor to be there and I don't take it for granted." He doesn't want to hang his victory too high just yet with a view to the rest of the tournament. "I'm happy about the win, but I also know that there's still a long way to go. It was only the first group match."
"Of course this is a great victory"
Zverev was very satisfied with his performance against Alcaraz. "Of course it's a big win. But there are no small victories here either, because you only play against the best players in the world." The German, who celebrated his first tournament win at his home tournament in Hamburg in the summer since his triumph at the ATP Finals in November 2021, has struggled in these matches this season: Zverev had only beaten a player from the top 10 twice before.
Winning the big matches is the last and, from Zverev's point of view, most important step on the way back to his old spheres. "Nothing has changed in terms of my goals. I still want to be one of the best players in the world, I still want to win the biggest tournaments in the world," he revealed in January on his return to the tour. The 26-year-old once made it to second place in the world rankings. If you want to win big tournaments, you also have to beat the big players. That is in the nature of things. So against Alcaraz, Zverev was at least able to improve his record a little. It's a big step towards the semi-finals in Turin and perhaps - as the future will show - more than just a small step in his own career.
It's quite possible that his record will deteriorate again on Wednesday: After Zverev's coup against Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev crushed Andrey Rublev, who has been in strong form of late, 6:4, 6:2. Medvedev, who has already inflicted four bitter defeats on Zverev this season, is the German's next opponent on Wednesday. After all: In 2021, the last time Zverev competed in Turin, he beat the Russian in the final.
Alexander Zverev's victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP Finals was a significant achievement in his tennis career, given his history of injuries and setbacks, particularly the one at Roland Garros in 2022.
As a result of his win, Zverev is now looking forward to the semi-finals of the ATP Finals, a prestigious event that he considers an honor to be a part of.
Source: www.ntv.de
