ATP Finals: Alexander Zverev beats Hubert Hurkacz, proceeds to semi-finals
Germany's Alexander Zverev stormed into the semi-final of the ATP Finals after claiming a dominant win over Hubert Hurkacz. Zverev overcame Hurkacz 6-2, 6-4 in a match that ran for an hour and two minutes. The former is 2-1 in the Red Group. He earlier lost to world number two Daniil Medvedev and defeated Matteo Berrettini. Here are the key stats.
Here are the stats in the match
Zverev won a total of 61 points and struck 22 winners in the match. He committed just eight unforced errors to secure victory. Zverev won 16 of the opening 18 points against Hurkacz. Overall, the former won 30 out of 43 points in the first set. Notably, both Zverev and Hurkacz hit 11 aces each. None of the players hit a single double-fault.
Zeverv is in the form of his life
Zverev is in the form of his life, having registered a 57-15 record in the season. He has won two Masters 1000 titles (Cincinnati and Madrid) this year. In August, Zverev achieved the biggest win of his career by clinching gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He also reached his maiden Roland Garros semi-finals. Notably, Zverev has won 30 of his last 34 matches.
Head-to-head: Zverev 2-0 Hurkacz
Zverev claimed his second win over Hurkacz, having improved to a 2-0 record. The former earlier defeated Hurkacz 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 at the Madrid Masters. Notably, Hurkacz was in pursuit of becoming just the second player to qualify for the ATP Finals semi-finals after losing the first two matches. Earlier in the season, he secured his maiden Masters 1000 title in Miami.
Zverev to face Novak Djokovic in the semis
Zverev, who has qualified for his third ATP Finals semis, will face world number one Novak Djokovic in the penultimate clash. Djokovic has a 7-3 lead over Zverev in the head-to-head series. Zverev recently defeated the Serbian in the semi-finals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. However, this is his only win over Djokovic in the last seven matches between the two.
ATP Finals: Three former champions into the semis
Zverev has qualified for the ATP Finals semis along with Djokovic and Medvedev. All three players have won the tournament at least once. This is the first such instance since 1994 when Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, and Pete Sampras qualified for the semis.