Alexander Zverev Opens Up About His Physical Issues at the ATP Finals: “I saw my surgeon after Paris”
Alexander Zverev will play Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in his second round robin match at the ATP Finals in Turin.
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Alexander Zverev (image via National Bank Open)
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Alexander Zverev continues to bring out his best at the ATP Finals after he defeated Ben Shelton in the opening round robin match in Turin. The two-time champion has always done well to play his best tennis at the tournament. However, he opened up about his struggles with injuries before arriving at the tournament.
Zverev has struggled with a back injury since the North American hard-court swing and has often complained that it affected his game on the court. However, at the Vienna Open, he declared that he didn’t feel any pain in his back and that made him reach the final before losing to Jannik Sinner in three sets.
But at the Paris Masters, he played well at the beginning but shockingly began to struggle with an ankle in the semi-finals against Sinner. He managed to win just one game against the World No.2 and had only eight days to prepare for the ATP Finals. Despite the shortness of time, the 28-year-old showed no sign of strain against Shelton at the ATP Finals.
Zverev produced a high-class display against the American star as he appeared well rested and refreshed on the court. He didn’t face a break point against debutant Shelton and broke the Canadian Open champion twice in the first set. The Munich Open champion went on to win the match in straight sets.
Zverev’s win over Shelton takes him to the top of the Bjorn Borg Group, where Sinner also competes. During his press conference at the prestigious season-ending tournament, he revealed that he had visited a surgeon after his loss at the Paris Masters. He added that he’s looking forward to other matches at the tournament:
I felt good today and right now, I can take it one match at a time. In Vienna, I felt good, and also in Paris, until I played the long match against Medvedev, after that, my ankle swelled up. I couldn’t move it well during the match against Sinner, and he makes you play at 200% all the time. Now I have time to recover; I saw my surgeon in Munich after Paris, and it’s good to have two days off now. I’m looking forward to the upcoming matches, which are going to be tough.
Zverev has reached the semi-finals of the last two ATP Finals in Turin, but has never made it to the final. He hopes to break the curse this season despite failing to defend his Paris Masters title a few days ago. The 28-year-old will take on Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime next in the round robin stage.
Alexander Zverev admits he’s content with his performance against Ben Shelton at the ATP Finals
Alexander Zverev had led Ben Shelton 4-0 in their head-to-head record on tour ahead of their encounter at the ATP Finals. The former World No.2 continued his impressive form against the American star, as he targeted Shelton’s aggressive serves, winning 76 percent of points on return against his opponent’s second delivery.
He defeated Shelton 6-3, 7-6(6) to extend his head-to-head lead to 5-0. During the aforementioned press conference, the World No.3 revealed that he was happy with his performance against Shelton, while praising him for his incredible tactical game and skills on the court:
I controlled the things I could, he is one of the most aggressive players out there. Sometimes the points depend much more on him than on you, but I am happy because I did well with everything I could. He makes incredible shots many times, but takes risks all the time. At his age, I wasn’t playing as aggressively and didn’t have his shots or his serve.
Zverev has now met Shelton four times this season. He defeated the American at the Munich Open final in April before triumphing over him at the Stuttgart Open semi-finals. Zverev faced Shelton at the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals and defeated him in straight sets.
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