Can anyone stop Alexander Zverev’s late-season surge at the Nitto ATP Finals?

The German extended his winning streak to eight matches on Friday by beating Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(5), 6-4 in Turin. Zverev, facing Alcaraz for the first time since his heartbreaking five-set defeat in the Roland Garros championship match, produced an impressive one hour and 57 minute performance to surpass his rival and guarantee he will end the year as No. 2 . in the PIF ATP rankings.

“He has beaten me too many times in important matches this year, so I am happy that I got this one,” Zverev reflected after his triumph. “Obviously I feel like we have a pretty good rivalry with a great friendship as well, so it’s always fun to play against him… Just sharing the court with him. He’s a great guy and I’m looking forward to the next games with him.”

With his victory, Zverev secured a top spot in the John Newcombe Group and set up a semi-final against fifth seed Taylor Fritz, while Alcaraz was on the brink of elimination in the prestigious season finale. A scenario remains where the Spaniard could progress via match winning percentage, but only if Andrei Rublev beats Casper Ruud in straight sets on Friday evening.

“It was three fantastic games,” Zverev said. “I’m certainly happy to be 3-0 in the group, but I think the semi-finals will now be very difficult. (Taylor) has beaten me the last few times at the Slams, so I’m looking forward to that match.”

Although Zverev ultimately secured a straight sets victory, the margin of his victory against Alcaraz could have been greater. The German’s razor-sharp return on the fast court of the Inalpi Arena helped him grab seven break points in the first set, but he failed to convert them.

Those disappointments didn’t stop Zverev from staying focused during the tiebreak, with his accurate, powerful ball-striking from both wings proving crucial. Alcaraz produced back-to-back moments of magic from 2/5 down – a running forehand pass and a daring lob winner – but was let down by a loose backhand on the next point and Zverev went on to take the set and seal his semi-final. -last place.

The second seed still needed to win the match to secure top spot in the group and he made the perfect start to the second set by rallying from 40/0 until the break in the opening game. Alcaraz attempted a comeback, earning his first break points of the match (and the first break points Zverev faced this week) at 2-4, 15/40, but the German fended them off before sealing his win. .

Two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion Zverev sent down nine aces and won 73 percent (40/55) of points behind his first serve against Alcaraz, according to Infosys ATP Stats. He hasn’t dropped serve in any of his past four matches, dating back to his eventual victory at the Rolex Paris Masters against Ugo Humbert.

Zverev now has 69 wins on Tour through 2024, one more than world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and the most in a season since Andy Murray won 78 in 2016 (the year the Brit won the Nitto ATP Finals and ended as ATP year). -End No. 1 presented by PIF). After beating Alcaraz in the Nitto ATP Finals group stage for the second year in a row, Zverev now leads the Spaniard 6-5 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.