The John Newcombe group is currently dominated by Alexander Zverev, who is now very close to qualifying for the semi-finals of the ATP Finals 2024. If the French Openfinalist were to lose in the third match against Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud were to beat Andrey Rublev, there would be three players with two wins and one loss for just two places in the semi-finals. And then the number of sets and, if necessary, games would be counted. With a set won against Alcaraz, however, Zverev would be certain of passing the round robin.
In the second match, Zverev got the better of Casper Ruud in two sets with the score of 7-6 6-3. The first set was a battle of services. There was no break and the conclusion was a tie break. Here the German tennis player took off, immediately making a mini-break to the Norwegian to take the lead first 3-0 and then 5-1, to then close 7-3 with a cross-court forehand winner, after the service opened the court for him. In the tie break the German tennis player also touched a service speed of 233 km/h. The second set had the same progression as the first for a long time, but in the eighth game the balance was broken. A service game not among the best by Ruud brought the German to 5-3: Sascha closed without any problem in his service game.
Another convincing victory that now brings him one step away from qualifying for the semifinals, where he will probably challenge the second in the group currently led by Jannik Sinner.
In the post-match press conference, the ATP No.2 said he was extremely satisfied with the performance offered against the Norwegian, analyzing: "I think I played very well in the important moments, like in some situations where I was down 15-30 with the serve. I got rid of the pressure quite well and I played great tennis in the tie-break, I'm satisfied. I think it was a very high-level match, I don't remember Casper serving like that, I think he won 92% of the points with the first serve, I've never seen him with these numbers."
On the progress of the other matches, Zverev said how Casper and Carlos probably should have gone to the third set, but Alcaraz was not feeling well. The German emphasized how both are playing fantastic tennis, and that he has never seen Ruud play so well on hard courts. Zverev then emphasized how in the other group, Sinner is very dominant at the moment.
Then on Sinner and Alcaraz, the German explained: "I want to develop my game even more to be able to compete with Jannik and Carlos, it's simple, they are the two points of reference at the moment, the ones who are winning the Grand Slams, so my intention is to be part of that group. I know that they will continue to improve, so I have to recover."
