November 21, (THEWILL) – In a remarkable one-sided maiden final in Turin, Alexander Zverev upset defending champion Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to win the ATP Tour finals for the second time.
In one hour and 15 minutes, the German won 6-4 6-4 to claim his sixth title of the year and snap a five-match losing streak against his opponent.
It was the world number three’s 59th match win of an extremely successful season in which he went 32-4 since winning Olympic gold in Tokyo, indicating that he will be a big factor in 2022.
Zverev’s last match-up with Medvedev may have made for unsettling pre-final reading for his supporters, but with an amazing semi-final victory against Novak Djokovic under his belt, he was off to a great start in his effort to win his first match against the Russian since 2019.
The Olympic winner attempted to change the narrative early on, following up outstanding serving with an aggressive return game that included a bit of luck when a backhand tickled the net and dribbled over to snag the break.
Medvedev showed clutch tennis to dig out a hold from deuce and keep in touch as the German had the momentum but was unable to convert an opportunity for the double break at 3-1.
Zverev, on the other hand, stayed focused on his game plan and served out a brilliant 34-minute first set with ease. The world number three won 89% of his first serve points and did not provide anything for the Russian to chew on.
Medvedev knew he wanted to get off to a solid start in Set 2, but a sloppy forehand gave his opponent the upper hand as he dropped serve early for the second time.
The world number two had hardly gotten a look in before pressing Zverev to deuce at 3-2, but he could not find an opening as clutch serving helped the German out of trouble.
Zverev maintained his distance from the US Open winner, holding his nerve to serve out the match with a wide ace.
The victory meant he repeated his 2018 feat of avenging a round-robin loss to the player he will face in the final, and he also becomes the fourth player in tournament history to defeat the top two players in the FedEx ATP Rankings in the semi-finals and finals following the examples of Ivan Lendl in 1982, Stefan Edberg in 1989 and Andre Agassi in 1990.
Speaking on court following his triumph, Zverev said: “It was great. I won the World Tour finals, in the final against a player I’d lost to five times in a row, so I had to play one of my best matches. I’m happy about that and happy to go on my holidays with this win now.
“It is special and I’m super thrilled and super happy right now. There’s no better way to end the season than winning here. I’m obviously incredibly happy but I’m very much looking forward to next year already. Let’s see what happens.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
