With the pressure on, Alexander Zverev delivered Thursday, cruising past Hubert Hurkacz 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals as he moved to 2-1 in Red Group action.
Zverev, who had to beat Hurkacz to qualify following his three-set defeat to Red Group winner Daniil Medvedev, played aggressively and consistently, hitting 22 winners and committing just eight unforced errors to secure victory after 62 minutes.
“Today was a tough match mentally because I needed to win, so I was 100 per cent focused,” Zverev said. “It was very up and down, and I am happy to be through and win in straight sets. You can always improve. The margins are always very small between the top players, but to win you have to do the details right. I hope I can do that on Saturday.”
FOLLOW THIS WEEK’S ACTION
The German will face World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals on Saturday after the Serbian secured top spot in Green Group with victories over Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev.
“I have played Novak in every single big hard-court tournament this year,” Zverev added. “We are making a habit of playing in the later rounds at big tournaments. It is going to be an entertaining one I think.”
It is the third time Zverev has advanced to the last four at the season finale. The 24-year-old lifted The Brad Drewett Trophy in 2018 in London, before he fell to Dominic Thiem in the semi-finals in 2019.
The World No. 3 is making his fifth appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals and arrived in Turin in strong form. Zverev captured the Tokyo Olympics gold medal and clinched his second ATP Masters 1000 crown of the season in Cincinnati in August. Zverev then triumphed in Vienna in October and has now won 30 of his past 34 matches.
In a fast start, Zverev won 16 of the opening 18 points against Hurkacz as he hit with great depth and accuracy to move 4-0 ahead. The German stepped inside the baseline to dictate on his forehand as he manoeuvred Hurkacz around the court, sealing the first set in 26 minutes.
Hurkacz provided greater resistance at the start of the second set, making 100 per cent of his first serves in his opening two service games. However the World No. 9’s resistance was ended in the ninth game of the set when Hurkacz fired a forehand wide to hand Zverev the break. The German then held to claim victory and now leads Hurkacz 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series.
Hurkacz was bidding to become just the second player to qualify for the semi-finals after losing their first two matches. To advance, the Pole had to defeat Zverev and then rely on Medvedev overcoming Italian Jannik Sinner on Thursday evening.
Earlier this season, the 24-year-old captured his maiden Masters 1000 title in Miami and lifted trophies in Delray Beach and Metz.
Source Tennis – ATP World Tour
