Alexander Zverev lost his second group match against Novak Djokovic at the season finale in London. But he is still in charge of the semi-final.
At some point Alexander Zverev could no longer hide his anger. When he realized that the world number one Novak Djokovic was too big for him despite a cold, his determination gave way to frustration. As strong as Zverev had started the group game at the season finale in London, as weak was the end. With 4:6, 1:6 he lost to the favorite Serbian, but still has the entry into the knockout round in his hands.
“The match was much tighter than the result says,” said Zverev: “If I break the first set to 5-4, it’s going in a different direction. But Novak is not number one without reason and probably the best player in the world in such situations.”
After Marin Cilic (Croatia) won the evening match against John Isner (USA) 6:7 (7), 6:3, 6:4, it is clear: Zverev needs a win in two sets against Isner in the decisive group match on Friday (15 o’clock CET/Sky) to follow the already qualified Djokovic into the semi-finals by his own efforts. “This is going to be a completely different match, that’s all I’m focusing on now,” said Zverev, who could be satisfied even by a narrow defeat against Isner if Djokovic helps him against Cilic.
“It wasn’t a breathtaking tennis match between the two of us,” Djokovic admitted after 1:16 hours on the court: “But a victory is a victory.” Zverev made many unnecessary mistakes in the second set, said the 31-year-old, “which allowed me to win the match easier than I expected”.
After weak encounters at the tournament of the best eight players of the year so far, the tennis fans had come to the London o2 arena with great expectations. Boris Becker did not want to miss the duel between his former protégé Djokovic and the German hopeful. And indeed, a match at eye level developed first.
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Unlike in October, when Zverev was given a lesson by Djokovic in the semi-final of the Masters in Shanghai (1:6, 2:6), the 21-year-old kept the game open. He was able to rely on his service, which hit Djokovic’s field at up to 230 km/h. The best return player in tennis history for many experts, Zverev’s service could often only look behind.
After a few weeks of working with coach Ivan Lendl, the serve had already become more variable, Zverev said in London after his opening win over Cilic. On the other hand, he must continue to work on his nervous costume and body language. After he had missed two chances to break, Zverev lost his serve and the first set with a double fault.
The resistance was broken, even though Djokovic seemed to be vulnerable and hit the ground surprisingly slowly plagued by a cold, but Zverev completely lost his line. Again and again he shrugged his shoulders and scolded in the direction of his pit, in which Lendl, as usual motionless, watched the rapid decline.