World number 2 Alexander Zverev beat Andrey Rublev 6-4 6-4 after 72 minutes at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin to maintain his dominant record in opening round-robin matches at the ATP Finals to 6-1. Zverev did not face a break point and fired 25 winners
Rublev got off to a great start winning each of his 13 points on serve.
Zverev earned his first break at 15 with a forehand in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead. The German player served it out on his second set point after 34 minutes. Zverev won 14 of his 18 first serve points in the set.
The second set went on serve until the ninth game when Rublev netted a running forehand to face a break point. Zverev broke serve at 15 to take a 5-4 lead when Rublev sent a forehand long. The two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion sealed the win with his ninth ace on his first match point to improve his career win-loss record to 15-9 at the Nitto ATP Finals.
Zverev clinched his Tour-leading 67th win of the 2024 season.
Zverev recorded his sixth straight win after he clinched his seventh ATP Masters 1000 title in Paris Bercy.
On Wednesday Zverev will take on Casper Ruud, who beat Carlos Alcaraz in the John Newcombe Group.
“I thought it was a very solid match from my side. Against anyone here, you have to play you best to have a chance, you have to be solid and mentally strong. I feel like I that today, I felt like I used my chances quite well and I am obviously happy with my win. I am looking forward to the next few matches and hopefully I can improve on a few more things because I don’t think this match to be honest. I think there are more things that can be better. I missed few balls from the baseline and I feel I wasn’t as sharp movement wise as I would like to be”, said Zverev.
