Alexander Zverev throws Novak Djokovic out of the ATP Finals and is in the final against Daniil Medvedev

“It was a fantastic match and already our fifth this year. They were all great duels,” said Alexander Zverev in the winner’s interview and also broke a lance for Novak Djokovic. “From my point of view, he deserves more respect than anyone else in the world. Because of what he has achieved, he is the greatest player of all time for me. But sometimes people forget that,” said the 24-year-old.

The game began with extremely safe service games by both opponents, and Djokovic only had a break chance in the tenth game.

Zverev reacted outstandingly, served extremely well and freed himself from the precarious situation.

But even the Serb could – and had to – rely on the serve. At 5: 5 Djokovic fended off two breakballs, shortly afterwards it went into the tiebreak.

Zverev stays cool in the tie-break

It was also a duel at the highest level in the tie-break, in which Zverev gained the first real advantage with the 4-2 lead. After exactly an hour of play, the Hamburger grabbed the lead with the point to make it 7: 4.

“It is remarkable that Zverev even wins most of the long rallies against Djokovic,” marveled the three-time Davis Cup winner Patrik Kühnen, who accompanied the encounter as a TV expert for “Sky”.

The second set began as openly as the first, although Zverev had slight advantages and made life difficult for the world number one with sensational service games and unpleasant returns. Nevertheless, it was Djokovic who had the first two break opportunities in the set in the ninth game – and used the second to make it 5: 4.

Djokovic only uses the fifth set ball

Zverev fought against the set equalization with fight and class. The 24-year-old fended off the Serbian’s first four set balls, then Djokovic scored 6: 4 with an ace. “Djokovic was now acting more where he reacted in the first sentence. He was a little more on the trigger, but those are nuances,” analyzed Kühnen.

In the third set it took until the fourth game before Zverev struck and scored the decisive impact with the break to 3-1. The Olympic champion could not take the lead out of his hands and ended the match on his own serve after two hours and 28 minutes in his favor.

Kühnen: “Best Zverev I’ve ever seen”

It was the fourth victory for Zverev in the eleventh duel with Djokovic.

“For me it was the best Alexander Zverev I’ve ever seen. Because of the overall package, but also because he kept calm. The way he served the game against the best return player in the world was world class “, praised Kühnen.

Medvedev takes a stand against Ruud

In the final, the Russian is aiming for the sixth win in a row against Zverev. “He’s a Grand Slam champion, I’m an Olympic champion. I hope we’ll bring that onto the pitch in the final,” the German looked ahead to the final – and turned to the audience with a wink: “I hope you come also tomorrow again and supports both of us, but me a little more like him. “

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