ATP Finals, Alexander Zverev beats Hurkacz and condemns Sinner: the German goes to the semifinals

He tried, Hubert Hurkacz. But it wasn’t enough. And perhaps it would not have been enough even if he had been at 100% of his physical condition. In the semifinal with Djokovic, thanks to the success 6-2 6-4, va Alexander Zverev, who in his last match of the Red Group of the ATP Finals 2021 closes the accounts and also eliminates the residual hopes of Jannik Sinner, engaged tonight against Daniil Medvedev.

He did not succeed in the miracle Hurkacz, that is to find a condition that could allow him to play from the beginning against the current third force in the world of the racket. The start of the game, in fact, was terrible. A 4-0 in 11 minutes exactly in favor of Zverev to contextualize the obvious: on the one hand a player who started at full speed and with clear ideas, on the other a tennis player not in the best of his condition and who started with improbable impromptu solutions such as the constant search for the short ball or even serve and volley.

Zverev dug there, in an ‘amen’, the gap necessary to take the first set. And along with that also the serenity of being able to play a game with a margin.

Of course, then, Hurkacz, had some merits. The Pole, with the passing of the minutes, probably also entered the game from a mental point of view, playing over the pain of an ankle that was not completely in order. In fact, in the second set there was more balance, with Zverev forced on one occasion to the advantages and also in the final to recover from a couple of delicate scoring situations. But then, in the ninth game, the German placed the decisive break, taking advantage of a game in which Hurkacz was less incisive in the service and where the Polish forehand ran away on a couple of occasions. That was enough to write the end after just over an hour: 6-2 6-4 and many greetings to the evening match.

Zverev’s victory also eliminates Sinner

The closing match will in fact be a sort of exhibition for the Turin public (which would not have been so if they had reversed the order of today’s matches …). Medvedev is already certain of first place while Sinner, despite winning, cannot pass as the author of only two games compared to the 3 played by Zverev (the first discriminating factor to be evaluated after the number of games won). So Jannik can only play for glory; and for any extra 200 ATP points to be placed there in the standings to consolidate an excellent season that ended in the top 10 in the world.