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New Delhi: Two-time champion Alexander Zverev conquered Ben Shelton in his round-robin opener at the season-ending ATP Finals.
On Sunday in Turin, German Zverev overcame his American opponent 6-3, 7-6(6) after returning to the court for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in a semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner at the Paris Masters eight days ago.
In his first ATP Finals appearance, Shelton looked set to force a third set but couldn't win a tie-break despite leading 6-4 at one point as Zverev kept his composure to ensure victory in two sets.
“He’s an unbelievably aggressive player. Probably one of the most aggressive in the world,” Zverev said of Shelton after the match.
“In the tie-break, he started off amazing. Yes, I missed maybe one or two first serves and the passing shot he hit (at 5/4) was ridiculous. I felt like I had to control the things that I could control and I was doing them well.
“At the end of the day, when the point is on his serve it is always in his control. When I get the return back and in the rally, then I can do something. I did that well at the end of the tie-break and I’m super happy with that win.”
With his victory at Inalpi Arena, Zverev improved to 5-0 in his head-to-head match-ups with Shelton.
The 28-year-old Zverev has previously won the prestigious tournament in 2018 in London and in 2021 in Turin and is aiming to become only the eighth man to win three titles at the season finale.
Defending champion and World No. 1 Jannik Sinner begins his campaign with a showdown against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The Italian Jannik Sinner needs to retain his title to entertain hope of clinching the year-end top spot.
