The calculation is simple: Alexander Zverev must win against Jack Sock to enter the semi-final of the ATP Finals.
By Florian Goosmann from London
Alexander Zverev is after defeats… well, how to put it nicely: not exactly the sunshine of life. Which is a good quality, by the way, because it shows how much heart and will power the 20-year-old wants to win, no matter what. But preferably in tennis.
So when Alexander Zverev talks about feeling “positive” after his defeat against Roger Federer, you have to listen twice. But he actually said it:”People who have seen me after defeats already know me more then very disappointed. I feel very positive right now. Because I feel that if I keep my level and play like this, I have a very good chance of reaching the semi-finals,”he said about an hour after the match point.
You can sign that. It may not have been a match for eternity against Federer, it was a tactical game, both tried to neutralize each other instead of scoring the quick points, in many tricky situations the serve was decisive. The tension, the intensity – they were enormously high. Both players missed out on great chances, Zverev a 4-0 tiebreak, Federer a break in second set, but always stayed on, at least until the third set. Federer managed the early break here, Zverev lost his concentration for a short time, that’s it.
It could be a more open duel against Sock, less tactical. Zverev has to – of course – keep the US-American’s Brutalo forehand out of the game and work defensively, find his way, neutralize the serve, try to act himself. I am going into the match against Sock with a lot of self-confidence,”said Zverev.
Sock himself still lives his dream. When the first journalist asked him about a possible chance for London during Paris, he reported that he did not even know about it at first. With the victory, his biggest so far, Sock was then fixed as the eighth participant.
His match against Roger Federer was only at a few points, at the very first service game, on the double error at 4:4 in the tiebreak of set two. Against Cilic he won the decisive points, caught up with a 3-0 win in the third set, countered a net roll of the Croats in the tiebreak with overview and feeling in the long corner instead of with the logical ball short cross, turned a 2:4 into a 7:4.
All odds information about the ATP Final can be found here! Bet on Alexander Zverev and win a €100 bonus!
The direct balance sheet against Zverev is 1-1. Zverev won in 2016 in Beijing in two sets (on Hartplatz) and Sock in Stockholm in 2016 in three narrow sets (in the hall). What speaks for Sock is the record of the last few weeks, 6 victories and only 1 defeat; Zverev came after the US Open only to 8 victories with 6 defeats, which seems to be somewhat postponed in the context of his overall annual balance from 53 to 19.
Exactly this year’s record, however, seems to give Hamburgers the inner security to win against Sock and maybe get their revenge on Sunday against Federer “If I keep the level, I might see him again at the weekend” said Zverev. At the weekend, or more precisely: in the final.