Straight-Set Victory: Alexander Zverev Takes Down Casper Ruud in Convincing Fashion
Alexander Zverev defeats Casper Ruud 7-6(3), 6-3 to earn his second win at the ATP Finals. The German extends his winning streak to seven matches, having only dropped one set, and now leads the John Newcombe Group.
The world No. 2 hasn’t yet secured his spot in the semifinals mathematically, though only a disaster could keep him out. In his upcoming match against Alcaraz, he needs just one set to advance, and even if he loses in straight sets, Ruud would need a decisive victory over Andrey Rublev to progress.
Zverev outplays Ruud to maintain winning streak
In the first set, Ruud started aggressively, serving at a high level. The Norwegian played assertively, with strong serving, and seemed calmer than Zverev, who got into a couple of disputes with the chair umpire in the opening 20 minutes and appeared frustrated.
Ruud aimed to avoid cross-court backhand rallies, given Zverev’s clear superiority in those exchanges. Nevertheless, he managed to hold his service games without posing much threat to his opponent’s. Ruud’s first serve effectiveness wasn’t enough in the crucial moments. With no breaks throughout the set, it went to a tie-break. Zverev won a mini-break on the first point, took a 3-0 lead, and remained dominant, eventually clinching the set 7-6(3).
Zverev achieved an impressive 92% of points won on his first serve, compared to Ruud’s 79%. Furthermore, ‘Sascha’ was much more aggressive, hitting 19 winners to the Norwegian’s 8.
