Alexander Zverev has high expectations for this year’s Nitto ATP Finals, where he hopes to win his third title after the triumphs in 2018 (London) and 2021 (Turin). The German champion became the world’s new number 2 thanks to his victory at the Rolex Paris Masters last week and was placed in the group dedicated to John Newcombe along with Carlos Alcaraz, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev.
Ugo Humbert & Alexander Zverev, Paris Masters 2024© Stream screenshot
Sascha’s first opponent in Turin will be the Russian, who has experienced the most complicated season of his entire career (despite winning the Masters 1000 in Madrid during the spring). The player from Hamburg wants to enhance his season by winning the most important event in the ATP calendar, but he will have to play his best tennis to get a chance against Jannik Sinner.
The current world number 1 is the top favorite to lift the trophy, having suffered only six defeats in the whole year and being perfectly at ease on the indoor hard courts. In fact, Zverev is considered the third favorite of bookmakers behind Carlitos Alcaraz. The German confided that he had worked hard in recent weeks to improve his game and the results were already seen in the last Masters 1000 of 2024, where he expressed an excellent tennis throughout the week.
Sascha knows his weakness
The ATP Finals are important for Alexander, even if he thinks of 2025, which promises to be a crucial season for his career. The German champion will have to try to win a Grand Slam title next year, finally breaking the curse that is haunting him. Zverev lost both of the Major Finals he played in his career, at the 2020 US Open and 2024 French Open respectively.
In the press conference before the start of the ATP Finals in Turin, Sascha explained the reason why he struggles in the Grand Slam tournaments: “I’ve always said it’s special to play here; you face the top eight in the world right from the first match. What I’m going to say I know is a big issue for me, especially in the Grand Slams: I play very long matches at the beginning, unnecessary five-set matches against players I probably shouldn’t be facing in five sets. That, towards the end of the week, burdens me. Here, on the contrary, I know that if I don’t play my best tennis from the first point, I have no chance of winning. Perhaps it has to do with mentality; it’s a mindset I must bring to the Grand Slams and even to other tournaments, but there’s something that motivates me to deliver my best level against the best, from the first minute.”
Alexander Zverev, Paris Masters 2024© Stream screenshot
The German ace has improved in various aspects of his game over the past few months and continued to play despite the effects of pneumonia, which hit him right after the Laver Cup. Zverev admitted that he has not yet recovered to 100%, but that he wants to give the best in this last part of the season and finish 2024 as the world number 2.
Zverev will not be in Malaga
As everyone knows, Alexander will not participate in the 2024 edition of the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. The German prefers to rest and start preparing for 2025, which for him will begin at the United Cup. If he wants to win a Grand Slam title in 2025, Zverev will need to improve his mental skills and take a more aggressive approach on the tennis court. Sascha tends to become very passive in the decisive moments of the Majors, as his performance against Taylor Fritz in the last edition of the US Open shows.
In a long interview with ‘Tennis Majors’, former Novak Djokovic’s coach Goran Ivanisevic revealed that Sascha still lacks something compared to Sinner and Alcaraz: “Nobody can compete with Sinner and Alcaraz. Alexander Zverev has too many ups and downs. He plays very well until a certain point, and then comes a game where he really needs to put everything in place, where he has to give his best – that’s where he fails, and against Alcaraz and Sinner you always have to be at your best.”
Alexander Zverev, Vienna 2024© Facebook – Erste Bank Open
The Paris-Bercy champion is a very effective player on all surfaces and has a chance to win anywhere, although his serve is more effective on fast surfaces. The German reached the final at the French Open this year, wasting an important advantage against Carlitos Alcaraz. Sascha was two sets ahead of one in the last act, before suffering the furious comeback of the former world number 1. The real disappointment was in New York, where he did not take advantage of the unexpected eliminations of Djokovic and Alcaraz.