Alexander Zverev continued his rich vain of form with a 7-6(3) 6-3 win over Casper Ruud at the Nitto ATP Finals.
The world number two produced a serving masterclass as he sealed his second win of the week with a straight sets win over the resilient Norwegian.
Despite the win Zverev will still need to win a set against Carlos Alcaraz on Friday in order to qualify for the last four in Turin.
The match was a high-quality affair as Ruud continued his incredible returning especially on the forehand side.
Ruud was aggressive, proactive and more than did his part in frustrating Zverev with the German blasting off the first serve.
There was accurate serving from Ruud but the Norwegian lacked a clinical edge when half-opportunities came about.
Zverev’s forehand was the star of the show as neither play broke through with a first set tiebreak looming.
The second seed who recently won the Masters 1000 event in Paris-Bercy took his game to the next level as he dominated the tiebreak 7-3.
Both players played the match in good spirits as the second set continued to raise in quality and intensity.
In the second set both players were dictating play on first serve with Ruud doing his best to cover as much ground from the baseline as possible.
The sixth seed crumbled when it mattered most though as his trusted forehand produced tons of errors and he cheaply conceded the break therefore giving Zverev a 5-3 lead.
Zverev didn’t need a second invitation to seal the win as he produced aces to complete a professional performance.
After the match Zverev praised the quality of the match, “A good match. I thought both of us played quite good tennis,” Zverev told the ATP website.
“I’m happy with the win. Maybe it was even better than my first match, even though the first match was quite good as well. I’m looking forward to Carlos now on Friday and hopefully more matches at the weekend.”
The German will now aim to qualify for the semi-finals when he takes on Carlos Alcaraz on Friday while Casper Ruud hopes to join Zverev as he takes on Andrey Rublev.
