Alexander Zverev showed he was finally back at the top of the ATP tour by winning his second Masters 1000 of the season at the Rolex Paris Masters, where the particularly fast surface suited the German’s playing style very well. The new world number 2 has played a tournament very close to perfection, raising his level from the quarterfinals onwards. Sascha did not give a chance to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals, Holger Rune in the semi-finals and local idol Ugo Humbert in the final, despite the support of French fans was all directed towards their player.
Zverev’s serve worked well throughout the week and German was very effective from the baseline as well, establishing himself as the second top favorite for the win at the Nitto ATP Finals. Having surpassed Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP ranking, Alexander will not be able to face world number 1 Jannik Sinner in the group stage and will have a real chance of lifting another trophy in Turin after that in 2021.
The surface of the ATP Finals is very fast and only Sinner seems to be able to defeat Zverev on these courts. Alcaraz and Medvedev will start in the second row, pending the draw on Thursday. Meanwhile, news has come that the champion of the last two editions Novak Djokovic will not play in Turin this year because he is still injured.
Mischa Zverev on Sascha
Thanks to his triumph at Paris-Bercy last week, Sascha has won his seventh Masters 1000 of his career. Despite not winning a Grand Slam title, Zverev’s 2024 was still very satisfying and he certified his comeback at the highest level after suffering a serious ankle injury in 2022.
In an interview with ‘L’Equipe’ after the Rolex Paris Masters, Mischa Zverev commented on his brother’s current status: “He wants to improve some elements of his game for the next Grand Slam tournaments. He is determined and working on it. Yes, he has won here, yes, he is satisfied, but it’s not an end in itself. It’s just the beginning of the road.”
The champion from Hamburg did not play badly in the Majors this year, as shown by the semi-final at the Australian Open and especially the final at the French Open during the spring. The world number 2 missed something in the decisive moments of the most important tournaments, where he did not manage the pressure in the best way. When he feels tense and nervous, Zverev tends to be too passive on the court and has completely left the initiative to his rivals.
During a press conference in Paris-Bercy, Alexander said he still felt behind Sinner and Alcaraz: “I don’t know. But I feel like they are so aggressive. I think tennis is going towards that direction. I think when they get an easy ball, when they’re in an attacking position, 90% of the time the point is over, whether it’s a winner or an unforced error. That’s how hard they hit the ball, that’s how aggressive they are. I think in that aspect I can improve. That’s what I’m trying to do.
It’s nice to be back at the highest position that I have been so far. Of course I want to get higher, but for me still Jannik has the best year, for sure, and then Carlos had the second-best year. He won two Grand Slams. I know that I’m ahead of him in the rankings maybe, but for me he won Wimbledon and Roland Garros. Those are two massive titles. So, they are still the two best players in the world, in my opinion, at the moment.”
Zverev wants the ATP Finals
If he wins the ATP Finals next week, Alexander will be so confident as to start the next season. The Grand Slam tournaments will be his main goals in 2025, to finally break a curse that has been chasing him for years. For this reason, the German ace decided not to play for his country at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. Sascha prefers to rest and prepare for the first events of 2025: the United Cup and especially the Australian Open.
It is worth mentioning that the runner-up of the 2024 French Open also had a bad pneumonia from which he has not yet recovered 100%. Germany – who will face Canada in the quarter-finals in Malaga – have called Daniel Altmaier to replace Zverev. Winning at Bercy last week, Sascha has come close to Sinner in the ATP ranking even though the gap is still very wide. The German has won more matches than Jannik this year, but he has suffered 20 defeats since January against the only six (losses) of the Italian ace.
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