German tennis star, Alexander Zverev, has started his campaign to win a third ATP Finals title on a good note after a straight-set 6-4, 6-4 win over Andrey Rublev in Turin on Monday.
Zverev, champion at the season-ending ATP Finals in 2018 in London and 2021 in Turin, extended his winning streak to six matches following a title run at the Paris Masters.
His latest win came thanks largely to nine aces against Rublev, who has not won a match at the Finals since 2022 and admitted after the match that it was difficult dealing with Zverev’s service game.
“He served wide 220 (kph) on the deuce side,” Rublev said. “Normally everybody serves slice and it’s 190. He find(s) a way to serve 220 wide on the deuce side. It’s not easy.”
Rublev added, “Even if you catch the direction, when the flat serve comes 227, slice serve comes 219, 215, it’s tough to just see the ball.”
Next up for Zverev is a clash against Casper Ruud, while Rublev is primed for another tough test when he comes up against Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday.