Alexander Zverev emphatically announced his arrival at the top of the men’s game by beating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 to win his first ATP Finals title yesterday.
The 21-year-old German, making his second appearance at the end-of-season showpiece, brushed aside six-time champion Roger Federer in the semi-finals and repeated the feat against the world number one.
“I really cannot describe it. It’s the biggest title I have ever won,” said Zverev.
The Serbian top seed came into the match seeking to equal Federer’s record of six ATP Finals wins but was immediately aware he had a fight on his hands at London’s O2 Arena.
With both players going toe-to-toe from the back of the court, the first set went with serve until the ninth game, when Djokovic dumped a forehand into the net to concede the break.
Roared on by the crowd, Zverev hit three aces on his way to sealing the first set.
Djokovic, renowned as one of the greatest returners the game has seen, had been even more impressive on serve in London, winning all 36 games heading to the final and facing just two break points.
He beat Zverev 6-4, 6-1 in their round-robin match on Wednesday but it was a different story in front of a packed and vociferous crowd in London.
Still on a high after sealing the first set, the third seed broke an out-of-sorts Djokovic immediately at the start of the second set to leave the top seed with a mountain to climb.
Showing nerves for the first time, he double-faulted twice in his next service game as Djokovic got back on level terms but the German broke again to lead 2-1 as the Serb’s error count climbed.
He broke Djokovic for the third time in the second set in the ninth game, producing a stunning backhand down the line at full stretch to win the championship.
Bryan and Sock win ATP Finals doubles title
Mike Bryan and Jack Sock won the ATP Finals doubles title in thrilling fashion, coming from a set down to beat French pair Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut 5-7, 6-1, 13-11.
In an entertaining match both teams exerted consistent pressure on their opponents’ serve until Bryan and Sock buckled in the seventh game. The fifth seeds broke back immediately to level at 4-4 but remained vulnerable on their own serve and succumbed again in the 11th game, squandering opportunities of their own in the following game to lose the first set 7-5.
The American pair, who lost 6-2, 6-2 to their eighth-seeded opponents in the group stage at the ATP season finale, raced out of blocks in the second set, taking it in 24 minutes with two breaks of serve to force a match tie-break.Bryan and Sock carved out a 9-5 lead but could not finish the match, squandering five championship points and saving one for the French before they sealed the set 13-11. Sock, who appeared in the ATP Finals singles last year, teamed up with Mike Bryan after Bryan’s twin brother, Bob, suffered a hip injury in May and won the doubles titles at Wimbledon and the US Open.
Related Story