SAN FRANCISCO, November 19, (THEWILL) –Â German tennis player Alexander Zverev secured a tricky three-set victory over the Argentine Diego Schwartzman in London to keep his hopes of reaching the ATP Finals last four alive.
Zverev bounced back to record a 6-3 4-6 6-3 win over Schwartzman after losing his Group Tokyo 1970 opener to Daniil Medvedev at The O2 Arena. The result means Schwartzman’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals are effectively over.
The German, who dropped just three games when beating Schwartzman in the Bett1Hulks Championship final in Cologne, knew he was in for a tighter match on Wednesday when the Argentine broke first in the opening set to lead 2-1.
Composed and undeterred, Zverev responded immediately. The 23-year-old then saved two break points when he sealed the set 6-3, after another break in the sixth game.
In the opening two service games of the second set, break opportunities came and went for both players. Zverev managed to edge ahead by converting his third break point of the third game.
But, Schwartzman forced the match into a decider as he ended up taking the second set 6-4. However, Zverev regained his balance and closed out a victory that ended up being much more difficult than it initially appeared.
Zverev will next contend against Novak Djokovic in his final round-robin match on Friday, after the Serbian’s match against Medvedev on Wednesday evening.
As for Schwartzman, he will have to beat Medvedev in two days’ time to avoid leaving his debut ATP Finals appearance without a win.
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.
