ATP Finals: Alexander Zverev bites his teeth at fearsome rival Daniil Medvedev and has to worry about the semi-finals

Alexander Zverev shouted, slammed his racket and shook his head: the Olympic champion missed the chance to qualify early for the semi-finals of the ATP Finals.

At the end of the prestigious year in Turin, the Hamburg player lost in his second group match to Russian Daniil Medvedev 6:7 (7:9), 4:6. But: With success in the third group match, the German number one can still reach the semi-finals, but he needs help from Medvedev.

“I hope I can rejuvenate well and be ready for it. This tournament is treacherous, I have already reached the semi-finals, but I also want to stay in the rhythm,” Medvedev said regarding the duel with the Spaniard. “Especially against 20-year-old Carlos, you don’t necessarily want to end up in a tiebreak in the third set around midnight. Hopefully I can give my best.”

Meanwhile, the Russian remains a fearsome opponent for Zverev. In six direct meetings in 2023, Medvedev won five times.

Zverev started the match on Wednesday evening with renewed self-confidence after defeating Alcaraz, but he got off to a poor start and immediately dropped his first serve game.

After that, the German gradually worked his way into the game. Zverev played more aggressively, more consistently and faster. However, in crucial moments, he made unnecessary mistakes again. In the tie-break of the first round he was already leading 4:1, wasted two set points, and then lost it 7:9.

The second set continued to be intense and close together. While Zverev was able to rely on his serve again, his return was not at the highest level.

In the end, Medvedev used the first match point and made it all clear after 1:45.

“Both sets were very close in the end. I’ve already lost some matches like that this year, so I’m happy that I can still win these duels,” Medvedev said afterwards.