In the penultimate part of our four-part series we evaluate the seasons of Kevin Anderson and Alexander Zverev as the ATP World Tour Finals is just two days away.
Kevin Anderson
The South American will be making his ATP World Tour Finals debut at 33 years old after an incredible season which saw him reach his second grand slam final. In his first tournament of the season he reached the final of Pune before suffering a surprise first round exit at the Australian Open. I guess his opponent, Kyle Edmund, didn’t have a bad season though, did he?
After the Melbourne disappointment he managed to reach the quarter-finals or better in every tournament up until the clay court season. That run included a title at the 250 event in New York and a final in Acapulco, losing to Juan Martin Del Potro.
On the clay he made a Masters 1000 breakthrough by reaching his first semi-final at that level in eleven attempts, when he reached the last four in Madrid. A second week performance in Roland Garros was satisfactory after eventually losing in the fourth round to Diego Schwartzman from two sets up.
Reverse fortunes saw an epic two set comeback against Roger Federer in the Wimbledon quarter-finals as he reached his second grand slam final in London. That was before losing to Novak Djokovic in the final in straight sets.
Another Masters 1000 semi-final in Toronto followed, losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in an epic, as he reached the fourth round of the US Open. He ended his season with a Vienna title, his second of the season to seal a brilliant 2018.
STAT: Out of the ATP Finals contenders, Kevin Anderson has only lost to Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem, in-which he has an 0-4 combined record against in 2018.
The South African will be looking to change that stat, when he faces Dominic Thiem in the first singles match of the ATP Finals on Sunday.
Anderson’s Best Five Tournaments
Wimbledon Final – 1,200 pts
Vienna Champion – 500 pts
Madrid Semi-Finals – 360 pts
Toronto Semi-Finals – 360 pts
Acapulco Final – 300 pts
Alexander Zverev
The 21 year-old German has once again reached the ATP Finals after winning three titles and reaching his first grand slam quarter-final. It was a disappointing start to the season for Zverev having lost another five set match at a slam, this time to Hyeon Chung, in the third round of the Australian Open.
After a slow start, a semi-final in Acapulco and a final in Miami finally lifted his season as he had something to build on heading into the clay court season.
The world number five then went on a 13 match winning streak on the clay which included defending his title in Munich as well as winning his third masters 1000 title in Madrid this year. He almost did the Madrid-Rome double before the rain prevented him from making him significant progress against Rafael Nadal in the Rome final.
A grand slam breakthrough was made at Roland Garros as he won three five set matches in a row en route to reaching his first quarter-final at grand slam level. That was before his body failed him against Dominic Thiem in the last eight.
After illness prevented any grass court progress, Zverev competed in an up and down American hard court swing. A third title of 2018 in Washington was followed by a disappointing US Open campaign. A semi-final in two of his last three tournaments sealed his place in London, with the German hopeful for more progress under Ivan Lendl.
Serving The Key To Defeating Cilic
Surprisingly, the German has a 5-1 head-to-head record against the Croatian and one reason why is his success down the tee and out-wide when serving. As the stats show below the German’s serve is too hot to handle for Cilic as the Croatian can not make deep enough returns to cause any trouble.
The German will look to use this when he plays Cilic on Monday afternoon in his first ATP Finals match.
Zverev’s Best Five Tournaments
Madrid Champion – 1,000 pts
Miami Final – 600 pts
Rome Final – 600 pts
Washington Champion – 500 pts
Roland Garros quarter-finals – 360 pts
