Alexander Zverev got the job done in 63-minutes before a volatile crowd at Turin’s Pala Alpitour. The home fans were backing Pole Hubert Hurkacz in this Red Group clash of the Nitto ATP Finals; a win for the world No.9 would’ve sparked possibilities for their man Jannik Sinner. Zverev, however, left no room for debate as he blasted his way to a straight-set victory to advance to his third semifinal of the season finale.
The German’s 6-2, 6-4 triumph put him in the second position in the Red Group which was topped by defending champion Daniil Medvedev.
In Saturday’s last four clash, Zverev will play world No.1 Novak Djokovic for a fifth time this season.
“Today was a tough match mentally because I needed to win, I was 100 percent focused,” Zverev said. “It was very up and down, and I am happy to be through in straight sets.”
Hurkacz, who lost a tight opening match to Medvedev, wasn’t at his best against Sinner in the next game, and that’s where he took off from on Thursday – swinging and messing. Only 15 minutes into the match and the Pole was down 0-4. Zverev, the 2018 champion, didn’t look back, wrapping up the opening set in which his opponent won a mere 13 points in 26 minutes. The German dropped just one point on his first serve, and had six aces in the set.
Hurkacz was more of a presence on the court in the second set. The opportunity to break the Zverev serve came in the eighth game when the world No.3 fell behind 0-30, on the next point Hurkacz blew a backhand that was begging to be put away. In the following game, when facing breakpoint, Hurkacz hit a wild forehand. Zverev, who has been in stirring form coming into Turin, made no mistake in the next game. The 24-year-old has now won 30 of his past 34 matches.
Zverev, who beat Djokovic in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics, lost to the top-seed in the last four of the US Open, falling in five sets.
“We have played at the Australian Open, we played at the Olympics, and we played at the US Open, all the big hard court events this year we have played each other, so it's only right that we play each other here as well,” Zverev, making his fifth appearance at the ATP Finals, said. “I think every single match that we played was very close. Every single match that we played we both needed to be at our best. One or two points decided the matches. I expect it to be no different here.”
Ruud scores
Norway’s Casper Ruud claimed his first win in the tournament late on Wednesday against alternate Briton Cameron Norrie, who replaced an injured Stefanos Tsitisipas. The 22-year-old debutant scored after rallying from a set down for a 1-6, 6 -3, 6-4 win.
The victory sparked Ruud's semi-final chances. Novak Djokovic has already won the Green Group and claimed the first semi-final spot, leaving a win-and-you’re-in matchup for Ruud and Russian Andrey Rublev on Friday.
