Zverev completes march into Turin semis

Alexander Zverev charged into the final four of the ATP Finals on Friday as he  humbled Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (5), 6-4 to finish group play with a spotless 3-0 record.

The German who owns a pair of year-end titles from the eight-man event won his group and will wait for either Casper Ruud or Andrey Rublev to emerge when the final round-robin is played in the evening in Turin.

Alcaraz for all practical purposes is out of contention for the weekend knockout stage after dealing with breathing problems throughout the week.

Zverev nosed ahead with the pacesetting 69th win of the season as he duels with world No. 1 Italian Jannik Sinner (68) for that ATP statistical honour.

Sinner and American Taylor Fritz have already qualified into the semi-finals.

The 27-year-old German needed 65 minute to plough through the opening set, failing to convert on seven break point chances.

But he lifted his game to dominate in the second, breaking Alcaraz to start the set and completing the victory after two hours with a serve winner on match point.

“The tiebreaker was ridiculous on some points, but I’m happy with the win,” Zverev said. 

“All athletes are happy with winning, it’s the most important thing in sports”

The second-ranked Zverev improved to 6-5 in his series with former No. 1 Alcaraz, with the pair of good friends congratulating each other at the end.

Zverev ended with 29 winners and 19 unforced errors.

“Three (group) wins are fantastic,” Zverev said, “The semi-finals will be difficult but I’m looking forward to playing.

“I’ve got a good rivallry and friendship with Carlos – but it’s not nice when he beats me.”