ATP Shanghai: final! Alexander Zverev also beats Berrettini!
With another strong performance, Alexander Zverev defeated the world ranking 13 Matteo Berrettini 6: 3, 6: 4 and thus reached the final of the Masters tournament in Shanghai.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Oct 12, 2019, 03:33 pm
Zverev was particularly impressed with the serve: he brought more than 90 percent of the first serve in the first three games, at the end of the first set it was 82 percent - he made 17 of 18 points after that. And 3 out of 4 points on the second. Berrettini therefore had little to say when the Hamburg player served his first and only break chance to make it 3-1 when the Italian pulled a forehand. Zverev celebrated this with a loud "come on".
In general, he played almost a perfect first set with 8 winners with only 5 mistakes without need. At Berrettini, this record was 4:14 in the clearly red area.
Zverev stays on in the second set
Berrettini, however, came into the game better and, with his own serve, did not allow anything anymore either. At 2-1 he also had a little look when the world ranked sixth served at 3:30 p.m., but a completely unsuccessful stop brought Zverev back into play, which he secured with his fifth ace. Berrettini then won his third service game in a row, making 15 points in a row with their own service.
As if from nowhere, Zverev came 4: 4 to a 0:40 on the 23-year-old's serve, but once the forehand flew out, then Berrettini hit the serve well, with the last chance the backhand into the net. But Zverev came to break again, he did not respond well to Berrettini's attempt to stop, but Berrettini fluttered the volley out. Zverev then served safely, turning the first match point with the eleventh ace.
The match to read in the ticker!
In total, Zverev recorded 20 winners with 14 mistakes without a hardship, with Berrettini it was 10 winning strikes with 20 unforced mistakes. Zverev's markup at the end: 81 percent first serves in the field, 89 percent point wins afterwards - strong!
Zverev offensive as rarely
Zverev had won a dramatic match against Roger Federer in the quarter-finals: Here he was already in the lead with 6: 3, 6: 5 and 40: 0 on his own serve before the Swiss made five great points in a row and equalized. Federer also fended off two more match balls in the tie-break. However, Zverev remained mentally strong and took a 3: 0 lead in the third set - and transported this lead to victory.
"I finally started playing the way I should," said Zverev after the win. "I played too defensively all year round and lacked confidence."
Zverev opponent Medvedev: "Perhaps the best player in the world at the moment"
Zverev leads 4: 0 against final opponent Daniil Medvedev ; however, all matches took place before this season, in which Medvedev rose to the top of the world. Medvedev has reached his 6th final in a row in Shanghai, his most recent match record: 28 wins in 31 games!
Could Zverev's winning streak against Medvedev change now? "I hope not. We played fantastic matches that always went in my direction. Hopefully it will stay that way," said Zverev after his final. He is, however, extremely aware of Medvedev's form: "He is perhaps the best player in the world at the moment."
For Zverev it is the first Masters final this year, he has the chance to win his fourth title in a 1000 tournament on Sunday.