The season-ending ATP Finals is yet to get underway, but Germany’s Alexander Zverev already feels like a winner at the event.
On Sunday he will play his first ever match at the tournament, which features the eight best players in the world. He secured his place in London following a breakthrough season. Zverev has managed to win five ATP titles on three different surfaces, including his first two at Masters level. In 2017 only Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have managed to win more tournaments than him.
“I think playing in the event is kind of like winning a tournament already.” Zverev said about the ATP Finals. “It’s shows that I have been playing at a top-10 level the whole year.
“Honestly, that’s great for every player. I think it is an honour for every player to play there.”
Zverev has already scored six wins over top-10 players this season. Two of those secured his first duo of Masters titles. Seeded 16th at the Italian Open, he stunned the field to clinch the title after defeating Novak Djokovic in straight sets. Three months later it was a case of deja vu for the German in Montreal, who defeated Federer in the final.
“I think Rome was an amazing tournament for me because it was on the clay.” The 20-year-old explained. “On clay beating those kind of guys, and Djokovic, was event tougher.”
“Winning both of those masters events were great. Especially when I beat Djokovic in a final and I beat Federer in the other final. For me that was something very special.” He added.
The only blip in his season has occurred in the biggest tournaments, the grand slams. Despite being ranked third in the world, Zverev is yet to reach the second week of a major event. At Wimbledon, he secured his best result by reaching the fourth round before going out in five sets to Milos Raonic.
“I don’t think I played a lot of bad matches in the slams. I just lost to very good players.” He evaluated. “The only bad match I felt I played a grand slam was at the US Open against (Borna) Coric. I thought that was one of the worst matches I played all season.”
With a win-loss of 54-20 so far this year, Zverev is bidding to become the third player from his country to win the ATP Finals. Following in the footsteps of Michael Stich and Boris Becker. He will start his campaign at 20:00 GMT on Sunday against Marin Cilic.
