Zverev dethrones Medvedev to achieve his second title

In another final without Djokovic, Nadal and Federer, the third in a row in the ATP Finals, but with the best of the year, at least in terms of victories, Alexander Zverev was proclaimed champion by beating at the Pala Alpitour in Turin by a double 6-4 in 75 minutes to defending champion Daniil Medvedev. The German, winner in 2018, dethroned the Russian and is the tenth player to lift two or more trophies in the history of the tournament, which celebrated its 52nd edition. He does it, in addition, with victories against number one (Djokovic) and number two (Medvedev) in the crossings after the group stage, something that only Lendl (1982), Edberg (1989) and Agassi (1990) had achieved before.

The 2021 final faced two tennis players aged 25 or younger, a fact that had not occurred since 2005, when they were measured in fight by the Masters Naldandian (23) and Federer (24). The two had already triumphed in this event and shared the leadership of the course in ATP triumphs with 58, an equality that broke Zverev (59-15) thanks to a win with which he evens the head-to-head match with the Muscovite (6-6), who had beaten him five days earlier in the longest match (2h36) of the Red Group and before which he had conceded five consecutive defeats. He did it thanks to his magnificent performance, above all, to the service. The hamburger credited 74% of effectiveness with first and only lost seven points with them and six with second. In this way he did not grant even a break option to his rival, saddened by the impossibility of finding cracks through which to sneak the rest.

The other key to its success was the reliability of the game from the back of the court, with few errors (13) and a solidity worthy of the best David Ferrer, who coached him for a few weeks, after the 2020 lockdown. “I had to play one of my best matches against someone I had lost to five times in a row, and I’m very happy to go on vacation with this win,” Zverev said, which closes the year with six titles, more than anyone, including the Olympic champion in Tokyo, as well as two Masters 1,000 (Madrid and Cincinnati). He already accumulates 19 in his career with 24 years and is number three in the world. He still has the icing on the cake of winning a Grand Slam (“Yes, I look closer than ever, why not,” he warned), as his opponent did a few months ago at the US Open. “You are the leader of our generation,” he told her at the trophy presentation.

The future of NextGen

“There is no better way to finish the course, but you have to think about being ready for the next one, let’s see what happens,” added Sascha after an encounter tarnished by his absolute superiority from start to finish, which left him without a story. A couple of breaks decided and Medvedev could do nothing to avoid an outcome that this time, unlike in their previous duel, was very fast. This is modern tennis when the Big Three is not around. “I hope there are more endings like this one,” I wish Daniil after this new NextGen classic. The future is here.

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