He roared, hit his racket and shook his head: Olympic champion Alexander Zverev missed his first chance for a semi-final ticket at the ATP Finals. At the prestigious end of the year in Turin, Hamburg lost in its second group game to Russian Daniil Medvedev 6:7 (7:9), 4:6. But: With a win in the third group game, the German number one can still reach the semi-finals.
Zverev will then face Russian Andrej Rublew, who was eliminated after a 5:7, 2:6 defeat against Wimbledon winner Carlos Alcaraz. Alcaraz, whom Zverev defeated in three sets at the start in Turin, is now competing with the German for a place in the semi-finals. The Spaniard still has to face Medvedev, who has already made it to the knockout phase.
For the top German player Zverev, who has already won the tournament in 2018 and 2021, Medvedev remains a kind of feared opponent. It was his fifth defeat in the sixth meeting with the Muscovite this year.
Bad start from Zverev
Zverev versus Medvedev – the paths of the long-standing opponents keep crossing. And Medvedev, with whom Zverev also had a public argument about fairness in tennis in April, went into Wednesday’s game as the favorite. The record this season spoke too clearly for him, plus a convincing opening win against Rublev.
Zverev, who started with a 7:10 record against Medvedev overall, was able to point to the final triumph in Turin two years ago. And the opening win against Alcaraz gave the world number seven fresh self-confidence. Zverev’s serve in particular had once again proven to be a real weapon on the fast hard court.
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But then Zverev got off to a really bad start and gave up his first service game. After that, the German gradually fought his way into the game. Zverev played more aggressively, more consistently, faster. However, in the crucial moments he made unnecessary mistakes again. In the tiebreak of the first set he was already 4:1 ahead – and then lost it 7:9.
The second set continued to be intense and close. While Zverev was able to rely on his serve again, his return did not meet the highest standards. In the end, Medvedev used his first match point – and made everything clear after 1:45 hours.
