London: A few hours after old master Roger Federer reminded everyone of his enduring magic, young gun Alexander Zverev, the man leading the next generation of men’s tennis, dazzled on his ATP Finals debut here Sunday night.
The 20-year-old German, ranked three in the world, was hot and cold against Croatia’s Marin Cilic but, when it mattered most, he produced his best tennis to win 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
Zverev, the youngest qualifier for the season-ender for nine years, appeared to be fading after a dazzling start, but surged back in style to join Federer on top of ‘Boris Becker Group’.
Zverev possesses huge power off the ground, yet it was his finesse at the net which earned him a break in the opening game, picking off a low drop volley that gave Cilic no chance. His forehand wavered at times as Cilic cleverly tried to take the pace off the ball with some floaty slices, but Zverev closed out the first set with an ace.
Cilic upped his serving and forehand power to level the match and then led 3-1 in the third set. At 3-2, he was 40-15 up on serve but Zverev, wound-up by an erroneous over-rule, forged back to break with an exquisite lob. Cilic then dropped serve to love at 4-5 to lose for the sixth time in seven matches at the year-ender. Zverev will meet Federer in a mouthwatering clash Tuesday.
Nadal stays on top
Madrid: Spain’s Rafael Nadal continued to hold the No.1 spot in the men’s Association of Tennis Professionals world single rankings released Monday, with 10,645 points, surpassing Roger Federer of Switzerland. Germany’s Alexander Zverev came third with 4,410 points, followed by Dominic Thiem of Austria.
American Jack Sock, who earned the Paris Masters title last week, stayed in the ninth spot, ahead of Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta.
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