Alexander Zverev’s ATP Finals hat-trick hunt is off to an auspicious start here in Turin, as the world No. 2 player won his first match of this year’s tournament.
The German international defeated Andrey Rublev in straight sets in the opener to go on top of the John Newcombe Group. Joining him on top of the pile is Casper Ruud, who defeated Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets.
Meanwhile, in the Ilie Nastase Group, Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz also won their opening matches against Alex de Minaur and Daniil Medvedev, respectively.
According to the SBOTOP ATP Finals 2024 odds, the winner of this year’s season finale is a toss-up between the eight players competing, especially since there’s at least two more group stage games left to play before we head to the knockouts.
Check out the latest ATP Finals 2024 updates by continuing to read below.
Zverev looking sharp to start
Alexander Zverev opened his campaign with a 6-4, 6-4 victory against Andrey Rublev in a match that lasted just 72 minutes. This was the German’s Tour-leading 67th win of 2024.
Zverev had to overcome Rublev’s hot start, as the Russian international won his first 13 points on serve. However, Rublev’s lapse in the seventh game gave Zverev the crucial first break of the match, and the latter has maintained momentum ever since.
Zverev eventually capitalised in the ninth game of the second set to maintain his dominant record in the opening round-robin matches of this particular event (8-1 record). He now has a 7-3 edge in his head-to-heads against Andrey Rublev and has a 15-9 record at the ATP Finals.
There’s a lot at stake for Alexander Zverev this year since he aims to win his third ATP Finals trophy after doing so in 2018 and 2021.
He became the first player to beat Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer at the ATP Finals in 2019, and the 2024 edition marks the first time since 2001 that the famous “Big 3” are not playing in the season finale.
Alexander Zverev will have Casper Ruud as his next opponent on Wednesday evening.
Alcaraz receives Ruud awakening in opener
Speaking of Casper Ruud, the Norwegian star is also off to a positive start after scoring a huge 6-1, 7-5 win over Carlos Alcaraz yesterday.
Ruud, who had lost all four of his previous meetings against Alcaraz, saved break points in the opening game but took control of the first set from then on because of his opponent’s uncharacteristic errors.
Alcaraz responded with a 5-2 advantage in the second set and was two points from forcing the third set, only to run out of gas in the end.
Alcaraz dropped serve at 5-3 and looked dejected as Ruud cruised to victory by winning the final five games.
This is a lacklustre start for Carlos Alcaraz, who won the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year, especially since he is planning to become the first Spaniard to win the ATP Finals since Alex Corretja in 1998.
Alcaraz’s form since winning Wimbledon has been inconsistent. He exited early during the US Open, although he claimed the Beijing title in October.
After the match, Alcaraz bared that he had felt unwell leading up to the tournament, which probably explains why he looked out of sorts against Ruud.
“I don’t know if it was because of the nerves of the first match, but I didn’t feel completely well. My stomach limited my game a lot and made me feel uncomfortable. I could’ve done better. I’m not going to feel good in every match I play throughout the year, but it really limited me in terms of my recovery,” Alcaraz explained.
Sinner flexes No. 1 credentials
Jannik Sinner defeated Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4 to kick off his ATP Finals campaign, and was also given the trophy for clinching the year-end No. 1 ranking. The 23-year-old officially became the first Italian tennis player to reach the pinnacle of men’s tennis.
Sinner, who hasn’t played since the Shanghai Masters, had a brief scare when his serve was broken early in the first set. However, he bounced back quickly by winning four straight games and took the opening set to 5-2 before closing it out with his first set point.
After winning the opening set, Sinner closed the match out with a perfect service game, including a late ace, to dispatch de Minaur for good.
Sinner will take on Taylor Fritz on Wednesday, and a win there would put him in pole position to potentially notch his eighth big tournament victory of the season.
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