Alexander Zverev quickly ticked off the annoying match of missed chances against top favorite Jannik Sinner for his personal final for the semi-final ticket. “I’m looking forward, I’m looking to Friday,” said the German tennis star. In his group final at the ATP Finals in Turin against Canadian Felix Auger-Alliasime, the 28-year-old said: win or fly.
He has “a very realistic chance of getting to the semi-finals. And that is now my main task and my main goal,” said Zverev. But he was already thinking about a possible final on Sunday and a revenge against Sinner: “I hope to see him again. It’s that simple.”
To do this, the world number three must first survive against Auger-Aliassime on Friday (8.30 p.m./Sky). The starting position is clear: If the Hamburger wins, he will follow Sinner, who qualified early, into the top four in the Björn Borg Group. If he loses, the prestigious tournament for the best players of the year in Turin will already be over for the two-time winner (2018 and 2021) after the preliminary round.
Zverev prepared accordingly in a small training hall on Thursday afternoon. He knows: the pressure has increased again.
Zverev expects “very aggressive player”
In a direct comparison with Auger-Aliassime, Zverev leads with a 6:3 record, but he lost their last meeting so far at the US Open in the third round. Auger-Aliassime is a “very aggressive player,” but if he can hold his own, “then I will have my chances,” said Zverev.
The Canadian was just able to avoid an early exit with a hard-fought three-set win against Ben Shelton from the USA and feels prepared for the duel with Zverev. «He knows what he has to do. I know what I have to do,” said the 25-year-old: “Let’s see who can implement their game best on Friday.”
Kohlschreiber: “Sascha has to get there a little more”
At a young age, Auger-Aliassime was considered an exceptional talent, “who should own the future of men’s tennis”, as not only the Swiss tennis icon Roger Federer predicted at the time. But it didn’t get that far, the younger Sinner (24) and Carlos Alcaraz (22) now dominate the scene. This season, Auger-Aliassime’s form curve is clearly pointing upwards again.
“He is one of the best indoor players after Jannik Sinner and is incredibly self-confident,” said former professional Philipp Kohlschreiber. The Sky expert hopes that Zverev will act a little more decisively – unlike the seven missed break chances against Sinner. Wanting more in crucial moments is “an attitude that you can partly learn or develop. Sascha has to get there a little more.”
Zverev: The result does not reflect performance
Sinner played a sensational service game with his back to the wall and took advantage of his few chances. In the end, from Zverev’s perspective, the scoreboard read 4:6, 3:6. “He won’t have a service day like that every time. And I know that too, and he knows that too,” said Zverev. It was important to him that he was able to match the Italian’s dominant power tennis from the baseline.
In his opinion, the match was therefore more balanced than the result might suggest, said Zverev: “He just used his chances much, much better than me, and that’s why he won in two sets in the end.”
Sinner also confirmed that Zverev played “great tennis”. “It was a very close match.” In the end, Zverev lost to the defending champions for the fifth time in a row and is now under pressure in the group finals.
