Two-time ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev made a winning start in Turin. Competing at the year-end event for the eighth time in the previous nine years, the winner from 2018 and 2021 bested the debutant Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6 in an hour and 33 minutes.
Alexander was off to a great start. He then denied three set points in the tie break of the second set to seal the deal in straight sets and notch his 18th ATP Finals triumph.
Thus, the German became the 12th player to achieve that since the start of the elite event in 1970. He matched Stefan Edberg and Jimmy Connors and moved one victory from catchy John McEnroe.
Zverev has always enjoyed the ATP Finals vibes in London and Turin, embracing good runs and missing the event only once since 2017 due to that severe ankle injury in 2022.
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World no. 3 served well against the American and pressured his rival to follow that pace. Shelton stayed in touch in the second set and missed a massive chance to force a decider and extend his chances.
The more experienced player served at 81% and drew the most from that. He gave away ten points in his games and offered Shelton no break chances. The American struggled behind the second serve and experienced two breaks in the opener.
The German hit 18 winners and ten unforced errors. He built a massive advantage in the crucial quickest exchanges up to four strokes and had the upper hand from the baseline.
Zverev lost a single point on serve in the opener and securedcomfortable breaks in games five and nine for 6-3 in under half an hour. Ben faced the exit door in the fourth game of the second set.
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He defended two break points and remained on the positive side. Those were the only chances for the returners until the tie break. Shelton stepped in and grabbed three mini-breaks for 6-3 and three set points.
Alexander endured and pulled both mini-breaks back before locking the result at 6-6. He created a match point and seized it after the rival's backhand error, winning and matching the legends like Edberg and Connors.
