Turin: Germany’s Alexander Zverev defeated World No. 1, Novak Djokovic, in the semi-finals and backed that up against World No. 2 Medvedev, capitalising on his powerful game to secure victory in 75 minutes to become the ATP Champion.With his victory, Zverev became just the fourth player in the tournament’s history to earn semi-final and final wins over the top two players in the ATP Rankings. The World No. 3 fired seven aces, hit 22 winners and did not face a breakpoint in his statement win over the Russian.
It was Zverev’s second ATP Finals title and he ended his standout 2021 season in style in Turin. “It was great. I won the ATP Finals, in the final against someone I had lost five times in a row, so I had to play one of my best matches. I am happy about that and happy to go on holiday with this win,” Zverev said in his on-court interview.
The 24-year-old, who fell to Medvedev in the round-robin stage, has repeated what he achieved in London in 2018 when he won the title by reversing a round-robin loss to the player he faced in the championship match. The third seed beat Djokovic to clinch his first season finale trophy three years ago.
It is special, and I am super thrilled and happy right now. There is no better way to end the season than winning here. I am incredibly happy and I am already looking forward to next year, Zverev added.
Zverev has now earned a tour-leading 59 victories this season and has snapped a five-match losing streak against Medvedev, levelling their head-to-head series at 6-6. The 25-year-old defeated Zverev at the ATP Cup and the Paris Masters in 2021.
Earlier this year, the World No. 3 captured two ATP Masters 1000 crowns in Madrid and Cincinnati and won the Tokyo Olympic singles gold medal. The 19-time tour-level champion also triumphed in Acapulco and Vienna and has won 32 of his past 36 matches since Wimbledon.