For a long time parallel to the high-flying man – but without a trace of luck: Alexander Zverev lost in a battle with Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner and failed to make an early entry into the semifinals of the ATP Finals. Despite his good performance, the 28-year-old had to admit defeat to the defending champion and top favorite 4:6, 3:6 in Turin.
Around 13,000 spectators at the Inalpi Arena Turin praised not only their favorites, but also Zverev for his bold performance. But seven missed break chances were too many for a surprising coup. After 1:37 on the clock, Sinner converted his first match point.
“I tried to play my best in crucial moments,” said Sinner: “I’m very happy.”
Titles are still possible
In the final group match on Friday, Zverev had a real final battle for the second semifinal spot in Björn Borg’s group. The Hamburg player will next face Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, who also has a 1-1 record after defeating Ben Shelton of the United States 4:6, 7:6 (9:7), 7:5. The winner advances with Sinner to the best of four. Zverev lost their last meeting at the US Open against the Canadian in the third round.
Zverev suffered his fifth defeat in a row against the Italian. The four-time Grand Slam tournament winner is now unbeaten in 28 matches on indoor hard courts and also maintains a slim chance of ending the tennis year ranked No. 1 in the world. He must defend his title undefeated and Alcaraz cannot win his final group match against Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti on Thursday or reach the final.
Game plan? Change of direction and “head awake”
Zverev realized the difficulty of the task even before the first serve. Sinner “is currently the best player on this surface,” said the 2021 Olympic champion, who suffered a 6-0, 6-1 defeat against South Tyrolean a week and a half ago, due to a swollen ankle injury.
This time Zverev was fit – and very competitive. In the first game he had two break opportunities, but he couldn’t take advantage of them. However, his opponent attacked in Zverev’s weaker first service game and earned a break to win the first set.
Zverev missed too many break opportunities
Up to that point, Zverev had served as hard as ever and varied his groundstrokes, so Sinner was unable to display his dominant tennis power. The match plan was to change direction as much as possible, as Mischa Zverev’s brother expressed before the match. In addition, the German number 1 must “keep his mind up”.
It was Zverev even with the established deficit. In the second set he even had five break chances – but Sinner literally pulled his head out of the noose again and again. Angered by alleged contact with the net during Sinner’s serve, Zverev put the racket handle in his mouth. Moments later he complained to the referee about the LED display distracting him during the match.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:251112-930-284313/3
