World number two Alexander Zverev produces a stellar tennis display to surge past sixth seed Casper Ruud, earning the top spot in the John Newcombe Group at the Nitto ATP Finals on Wednesday night in Turin.
Two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev continues to excel at the Inalpi Arena, delivering a stellar performance to surge past world No. 7 Casper Ruud 7-6(3), 6-3 in one hour and 26 minutes on Wednesday night in Turin.
In his on-court interview, Zverev said: “I’m happy with the win. Maybe it was even better than my first match, even though the first match was quite good as well. I’m looking forward to Carlos now on Friday and hopefully more matches at the weekend.”
Competing in their second round-robin matches in the John Newcombe Group, the German player and Norway’s No. 1 racquet took the court at the Inalpi Arena to battle for the top spot in the group.
Fine margins separated the long-time rivals during the opening set, which unfolded into a tiebreaker that Zverev won 7-6(3) in 52 minutes.
Moreover, neither player faced a break point throughout the first set, marked by the enthralling rallies between the 2024 Roland-Garros semifinalists.
Sharp on serve, the second seed lost just two points behind his serve, winning 92 of the points on his first delivery overall.
Meanwhile, Ruud, who stunned Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz on Monday with an inspired performance, raised his level, going toe-to-toe with the reigning Paris Masters champion.
The high-level encounter would feature a tight second set, which went with serves until an unforced error in the eight-game cost the Norwegian the break.
In between, Christian Ruud’s pupil and son came to the net often, generating some spectacular volleys, winning 10 of 11 of his approaches.
At the tournament, the 12-time ATP titlist has showcased some of his best tennis this season.
Then, the 27-year-old followed to serve for the match, and he did not miss, wrapping proceedings 6-3 in 33 minutes, taking a step forward to the semifinals in Turin.
Zverev won 87 percent of the points on his first serve and converted the lone break point of the match.
Also, he hit 28 winners against 16 unforced errors compared to the sixth seed, 13 and 10, respectively.
Next, the Hamburg native will meet Alcaraz, who earlier on Wednesday prevailed 6-3, 7-6(8) over eight seed Andrey Rublev.
Alcaraz fell to the Oslo born in his opener while dealing with physical issues.
After recording his first win at the 2024 year-end championships, he commented: “I surprised myself. The way I played today from the baseline, with my serve. I was really calm. I just tried to be focussed on my game and what I had to do and forget I’m not feeling well and that I’m sick.”
Adding: “Once you step on the court, you have to forget everything, your struggles outside the court, and you try to focus on hitting a good forehand, a good backhand, and making good tactics against the opponent. I thought I did that pretty well and surprised myself.”
Ruud, 25, will square off against Rublev in his final group match on Friday.
