Revenge succeeded: Alexander Zverev reached the semi-finals as group winner at the ATP Finals and impressively underlined his title ambitions with a win against Carlos Alcaraz.
The world number two from Hamburg beat the Spanish top star on Friday 7:6 (7:5), 6:4 and took revenge for the final defeat in Roland Garros at the beginning of June.
“It was an incredibly high level. At some points I thought he was Spider-Man,” said Zverev in the on-court interview: “I’m very happy about the victory and the semi-finals.”
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You rarely see Alexander Zverev so light and relaxed in an interview. After the win against Carlos Alcaraz, the German was visibly in a good mood.
In the semifinals on Saturday, Alexander Zverev will now face his “feared opponent” Taylor Fritz (USA), against whom he was eliminated at Wimbledon and the US Open this year. After a perfect group phase with three wins, Zverev goes into the game with great self-confidence.
Third triumph within reach
Zverev is aiming for his third triumph in the Italian metropolis at the end of the year among the best eight tennis professionals after 2018 and 2021. The Hamburg native confirms his outstanding late form two weeks after his victory at the Masters in Paris-Bercy.
Against Carlos Alcaraz, who started the season in poor health and again played with a pink nose plaster, the Tokyo Olympic champion celebrated his 69th victory this season – no player on the tour has more to show for it this year. It was Zverev’s sixth victory in his eleventh meeting with the four-time Grand Slam winner.
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Alexander Zverev you devil! Carlos Alcaraz braces himself against the defeat, throws his best tennis at the German again… and he remains incredibly cool.
Nervous start
Both players got off to a nervous start to the game on Friday, Zverev initially missed seven break points before showing better nerves in the tiebreak of the first set against the Spaniard, who played incorrectly at times. In the second round he immediately managed to break, and a little later he successfully fended off two break points from the Spaniard – and then he couldn’t be stopped.
SID
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