Alexander Zverev scares everyone right now. The German champion has reached the peak of his shape in this last part of the season, in which he is playing truly incredible tennis. After winning the Rolex Paris Masters (seventh Masters 1000 of his career), the player from Hamburg did not lose a single set in his first three matches at the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals.
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The world number 2 who has already lifted the trophy in Turin in 2021 plays his best tennis on this surface and his victory against Carlos Alcaraz today shocked everyone. The 4-time Grand Slam champion played an excellent match after the problems he had in recent days, but Sascha was really impeccable in the decisive moments.
Zverev who has yet to suffer a single break in the entire tournament won the best match of the ATP Finals so far proving that he is a serious candidate to lift the trophy on Sunday. A final between Zverev and Jannik Sinner would be the best possible right now.
Sascha isunstoppable
Alexander has practiced a lot in recent weeks, trusting that his main goal is to reach the same level as Jannik and Carlitos. If he continues to play like this, the German can finally win a Grand Slam title in 2025.
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Thanks to the amazing win over Alcaraz in Turin today, Sascha has achieved three very important milestones. The German ace has officially qualified for the semifinals, is certain to end 2024 as world number 2 and has a positive record against both Sinner and Alcaraz. Sascha has 4 wins and suffered 2 losses against the Italian, while he has a 6-5 record against the Spaniard.
The world number 2's performance against Carlitos was almost perfect, guaranteeing him his 69th victory this season (one more than Sinner).
He beat me too many times this year in important matches, so Im happy that I got this one, explained Zverev after the clash. Obviously I feel like we have a pretty good rivalry with a great friendship as well, so its always nice to play against him Just sharing the court with him. Hes a great guy and Im looking forward to the next matches with him as well.
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Sascha will face Taylor Fritz in the semifinals: Its been three fantastic matches. Im happy with being 3-0 in the group for sure, but I think now the semi-final is going to be very difficult. Taylor beat me the past few times at the Slams, so Im looking forward to that match.
The two-time ATP Finals champion will have to be very careful with Fritz, who is having the best season of his career and is very dangerous on this surface. In addition, the American ace has defeated the German on the last three occasions. More precisely, the American champion prevailed over Sascha at the Wimbledon Championships, the US Open and the Laver Cup.
Zverev scares
In recent weeks, the player from Hamburg has shown a different attitude on court. Sascha has always had an excellent serve, but now he is more aggressive from baseline and has improved very close to the net thanks to the help of his brother Mischa. If he wins the ATP Finals for the third time, 2024 could be the best season of Zverev's career. The German would overtake the results he achieved in 2021, when he won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
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Recently, the world number 2 has started practicing even after the end of the matches. An unusual choice that testifies to his desire to improve his game also in view of next season. In general, as I said in Paris, its not about today, its not about tomorrow, its not about the next match. I want to improve a few things for the next season already Zverev explained in his latest press conference in Turin.
I want to develop my game further so I can compete with Jannik and Carlos. As simple as that. Theyre the two benchmarks right now. Theyre the ones that are winning Grand Slams. I want to be part of that group. I know theyre going to improve, so I have to keep up he added.
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Alexander is certain to be the second seed at the 2025 Australian Open, having performed better than Alcaraz in recent weeks. Sascha has a 905-points lead over the Spaniard right now, which could become even larger if he reaches the final in Turin or wins the tournament. The German ace has been very consistent in 2024 and deserved to finish ahead of Carlos, despite the young Spaniard winning two Major titles.
