via Getty
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 08: (R-L) Alexander Zverev of Germany, Dominic Thiem of Austria, Matteo Berrettini of Italy, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, Daniil Medvedev of Russia. Roger Federer of Switzerland, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece and Rafael Nadal of Spain pose for a selfie on a boat on The River Thames during previews for the Nitto ATP Finals at The O2 Arena on November 08, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
via Getty
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 08: (R-L) Alexander Zverev of Germany, Dominic Thiem of Austria, Matteo Berrettini of Italy, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, Daniil Medvedev of Russia. Roger Federer of Switzerland, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece and Rafael Nadal of Spain pose for a selfie on a boat on The River Thames during previews for the Nitto ATP Finals at The O2 Arena on November 08, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
The O2 Arena in London is ready to host the ATP Finals for one last time. The tournament is a customary year-end finale where the best eight players conclude the 2020 season and one becomes champion. Among the contenders is the top-seed and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic who has claimed London a record four times. The champion of the 2018 ATP Finals, Alexander Zverev took a spot in the same group as the Serbian.
Although London has offered an atmosphere unlike anywhere else for 11 previous editions, this year will be noiseless. The absence of fans will definitely affect the players’ performances; however, they are used to playing in these conditions now. Zverev will meet Djokovic for the 6 time in his career, with the latter leading the tally 2-3.
“Djokovic’s going to be difficult”: Alexander Zverev
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via Reuters
Tennis – ATP Masters 1000 – Paris Masters – AccorHotels Arena, Paris, France – November 7, 2020 Germany’s Alexander Zverev reacts during his semi final match against Spain’s Rafael Nadal REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
Despite the challenging conditions, the 23-year-old German has played exceptionally well and achieved great results. In his last three tournaments, Zverev won 2 (both Cologne) and reached the finals of Paris Masters. Apart from Zverev and Djokovic, the group contains the Russian Daniil Medvedev (Bercy winner) and Argentinian Diego Schwartzman.
World No. 7 Zverev faced World No. 1 Djokovic twice in 2018 in London. While he lost to the Serb in the group stage, he overpowered him in the finals.
What a moment!
Here’s how Alexander Zverev won the 2018 #NittoATPFinals title… pic.twitter.com/Fj8CDJr6Ps
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 18, 2018
On playing Serbia’s finest, Zverev said, “Novak is a great player no matter where you play him. He’s tough to beat. I played him twice here in the same year. Obviously, I won once, I lost once. He’s going to be difficult.”
WATCH: Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic Have a Pep Talk Ahead of ATP Finals 2020
“Play Your Best”: Zverev on chances to beat Novak Djokovic
via Reuters
Tennis – ATP Masters 1000 – Paris Masters – AccorHotels Arena, Paris, France – Germany’s Alexander Zverev celebrates winning his semi final match against Spain’s Rafael Nadal REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
Sascha, who recently beat Rafael Nadal en route to the Paris finals, would have liked to be a part of the other group. However, the German will meet his toughest challenge in the six time year-end No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
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The 17 time Grand Slam winner recorded 4 straight title wins at London Finals from 2012 to 2015. He will indeed aim to add his name once again to the list of London conquerors.
“I think he’s the favorite in our group and everybody’s going to look forward to playing him. You have to play your best to have a chance against him,” added the German player Zverev.
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London will see live tennis action from Sunday, November 15, 2020. From next year onwards, the year-end finals will commence in Turin, Italy. Alexander Zverev’s fans will certainly keep their fingers crossed.
Also Read: Who is the Favorite to Win ATP Finals 2020?
