Alexander Zverev beats defending champion Daniil Medvedev to win ATP Finals for second time
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Updated 21/11/2021 at 22:51 GMT
Alexander Zverev won the ATP Tour finals back in 2018 when he beat Novak Djokovic in the final. And the Olympic champion made light work of US Open champion Daniil Medvedev in one hour and 16 minutes to notch up a tour-best sixth trophy of the year and end a five-match losing run against his opponent.
Zverev: It's obviously been a great year
Alexander Zverev won the ATP Tour finals for the second time as he defeated defending champion Daniil Medvedev in straight sets in what was a surprisingly one-sided maiden final in Turin.
The German prevailed 6-4 6-4 in one hour and 15 minutes to notch up a tour-best sixth trophy of the year and end a five-match losing run against his opponent.
It was the world number three’s 59th match win of a highly successful season as he posted a 32-4 record since his Olympic Gold triumph in Tokyo to suggest he will be a major force in 2022.
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.
Zverev’s recent match-up with Medvedev may have made for some concerning pre-final reading for his fans, but with an impressive semi-final win over Novak Djokovic under his belt, he made a superb start in his bid to claim a first success over the Russian since 2019.
The Olympic champion looked to change the narrative early on as he backed up some magnificent serving with an aggressive return game that brought with it a fair amount of luck as a backhand tickled the net and dribbled over to snare the break.
The German had the momentum but could not convert an opportunity for the double break at 3-1 as Medvedev produced clutch tennis to dig out a hold from deuce and stay in touch.
However, Zverev remained firmly focused on his game-plan and concluded an excellent 34-minute set by serving it out with aplomb. The world number three won 89 per cent of his first serve points and offered little for the Russian to sink his teeth into.
Medvedev knew he needed to make a strong start to Set 2 but immediately handed his opponent the initiative as a loose forehand led to him dropping serve early once again.
The world number two had barely had a look-in but did finally press Zverev to deuce at 3-2 but he could not muster an opening as clutch serving eased the German out of danger.
Zverev continued to keep the US Open champion at arm’s length and held his nerve to serve out the match with a wide ace.
The victory sees him repeat his 2018 feat of overturning a loss in the round-robin stage to the player he faced in the final and also means he becomes the fourth player in tournament history to earn semi-final and final wins over the top two players in the FedEx ATP Rankings (Ivan Lendl in 1982, Stefan Edberg in 1989, Andre Agassi in 1990).
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Zverev: It's obviously been a great year
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