Alexander Zverev kick-starts hat-trick hunt in Turin with dominant win

Alexander Zverev's decisive victory on Monday night sparked his quest for a third Nitto ATP Finals trophy. To start the season finale in Turin, the second seed locked in to defeat Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-4. Rublev got off to a quick start, but Zverev, the 2018 and 2021 champion, held his own and won his 67th victory of 2024 in just 72 minutes. 

“I thought it was a very solid match from my end,” said Zverev, who improved to 15-9 at the Nitto ATP Finals. “Against anyone here, you have to play your best to have a chance, you have to be solid [and] mentally strong. I feel like I did that today, I felt like I used my chances quite well and I'm obviously happy with this win.”

Zverev became the first player to beat Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer at the Nitto ATP Finals in 2019. For the first time since 2001, neither of those players will be competing at the season finale in the 2024 edition.

“I think the attention went to Carlos [Alcaraz] and Jannik [Sinner] all year long,” Zverev said when asked about the scenario. “They deserve it, they won two Grand Slams each.

“It’s normal in sports, at some point everybody retires, new players come along. We have a great group of guys leading with Jannik and Carlos. I think they had a better year, even though I’m No. 2 in the world. The benchmark is those two guys.”

Zverev will play Casper Ruud, who defeated third seed Carlos Alcaraz in the John Newcombe Group, to continue his hat-trick run after he improved to 7-3 in the two players' Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Faced with the most prolific server in the Nitto ATP Finals field, it was Rublev who got off to a blistering start inside Inalpi Arena. Infosys ATP Stats shows that the 27-year-old won his first 13 points on serve, but a mistake in the seventh game gave Zverev the match's first break.

Zverev waited patiently in the second set before stomping in the ninth to keep up his commanding lead in the event's opening round-robin matches (6-1).  

Cover Credits - ATP Tour