ATP Rotterdam: That would be Alexander Zverev's path to the title
Alexander Zverev is number three in the ATP Tour 500 tournament in Rotterdam. To get the title, he would have to defeat two top ten competitors.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Feb 28, 2021, 08:51 pm
No question about it: Alexander Zverev made a very strong start to the tennis year 2021. Zverev just lost to Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev at the ATP Cup, but then showed no weaknesses in his run until the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. And in retrospect, he was the only player who could really be dangerous for the eventual winner Djokovic.
In the current week, the German number one is in Rotterdam, Zverev landed in the main field of the traditional ATP Tour 500 tournament with a wildcard. We took a closer look at the path to the possible title for Zverev.
Round one: Alexander Bublik
It would border on a miracle if Bublik had the strength to survive against Zverev just a few hours after his (failed) final appearance in Singapore. The Kazakh has enormous wit - and the welcome service from below - but otherwise should have no means against Alexander Zverev. Incidentally, the match in Rotterdam will be the premiere of the two 23-year-olds against each other.
Round of 16: Tommy Paul or Lorenzo Sonego
Zverev played against Paul once. And yet quite surprisingly and clearly lost in Acapulco in 2020. The American has a somewhat unorthodox play system. Whether the return power in the hall will be enough against Zverev is doubtful. Lorenzo Sonego defeated a no longer motivated Novak Djokovic in Vienna last year, but has no weapons to endanger Zverev. So far there has not been a duel between the two.
Quarter-finals: Roberto Bautista Agut (according to seed list)
The Spaniard has just had a reasonably successful week in Montpellier, where he won the final against the revitalized David Goffin. Zverev and Bautista Agut have played six matches against each other so far, the German has won the last four games. The two met once in Rotterdam, in 2015. At that time, Bautista Agut won.
Semi-finals: Daniil Medvedev or Félix Auger-Aliassime
Against Medvedev, Zverev has not had good experiences in recent months with the defeats in Paris-Bercy, at the ATP Finals in London and at the ATP Cup. It will be interesting to see how the Russian does after his strong performances at the Australian Open in Rotterdam. Alexander Zverev would have more fun a priori with Auger-Aliassime : The Hamburg native has won all three previous matches, the most recent in the Cologne 1 final in autumn 2020.
Finale: Stefanos Tsitsipas or Andrey Rublev or ...
From this phase at the latest, you can only guess. Or proceed according to the seeding list. Tsitsipas enters the tournament as number two, Rublev as four. Against Tsitsipas, Zverev has an amazing 1: 5 record, against Rublev, however, won all four previous matches.