Alexander Zverev played great tennis at the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals this week and everyone thought he would reach the final. The German champion had won his group without losing a single set, playing perhaps the best match of his entire season against the 4-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz.
ADVERTISEMENT
Sascha was in great shape and had gained confidence thanks to his triumph at the Rolex Paris Masters, which earned him the seventh Masters 1000 title of his career. However, his certainties were lost during the semifinal against Taylor Fritz.
The American aces game puts the world number 2 in huge difficulty, who had already been defeated by Fritz at the Wimbledon Championships, the US Open and the Laver Cup in Berlin. Zverev's performance was less effective than in previous days, and the German ace made many more free errors during the match.
Despite this unexpected loss, Alexander's 2024 remains very positive in terms of results and performances. The world number 2 won two Masters 1000 title(Rome and Paris-Bercy) and achieved 69 wins during the year, surpassing Carlitos Alcaraz in the ATP ranking. Sascha will be one of the favorites at the 2025 Australian Open, but he failed to reach the final in Turin with huge regrets.
ADVERTISEMENT
Saschawas very sad
The German champion was very sad after the end of the match against Fritz in Turin, because he knew that he had not played his best tennis and that he had missed a very good chance.
"This one will hurt maybe a bit more because I thought I played at a decent level and I had more chances generally in the third set. I felt like statistically and shot-wise, my level maybe was even higher than his until the important moments. That's where I kind of blew it. This one will hurt more than the other few," said Zverev in his latest press conference.
"I didn't use my chances in the third set at all. I feel like I had more than enough. I played a below-average tie-break, I would say. A lot worse than what the level was throughout the third set from my end he added.
ADVERTISEMENT
The two-time ATP Finals champion - who triumphed in Turin in 2021 - felt worse than on Friday, when he played an amazing match against Alcaraz.
"I felt a bit more empty. Yesterday I felt full of energy. I was like a jumping ball. I could move and I could run no matter how long. Today I felt more empty, especially in the beginning. The longer the match went on, the better I felt. In the beginning of the match, I struggled. In the warm-up I struggled as well, he explained.
"It was one of those days where everything takes time to get going. It's not a natural flow to movement patterns, to your shots as well, to just how you wake up in the morning. Everything is a little bit more tiring. I felt that way.
ADVERTISEMENT
Against Carlos, it was the highlight of the tournament. Probably the highest-level match that the tournament has seen so far. Unfortunately, I didn't back it up at the level in the first set Sascha concluded.
Zverevended his season
The world number 2 has officially ended his season, because he chose not to participate in the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. The German will rest for a few days and begin preparing for next season, which will be crucial for his entire career. The player from Hamburg will play the United Cup as the only event before the Australian Open. Despite the disappointment in Turin, Sascha has shown progress in his game in recent months. Zverev has become more aggressive from baseline and has improved his skills near the net.
Alexander is also getting help from his brother Mischa, who follows him around the world and gives him many useful tips to continue improving in some areas of the court.
ADVERTISEMENT
I'm not volleying like my brother yet. That's why I'm not No. 1 in the world, but No. 2. I still have something to improve for next year. Hopefully I can do that," Zverev said with a smile on his face.
His team makes many signals to him during the various matches, generating confusion at times.
"You have to ask him what he was trying to show me. I went to my dad to keep it more simple. He told me to step back on the second serve return, which was a great suggestion compared to my brother who was throwing me 48 different sign languages and signs, which I didn't understand a single one of them, yeah," he added.
