Tennis | Nitto ATP Finals 2024 | Carlos Alcaraz aims to break ATP Finals curse, takes on Ruud in opener
The first round of group stage matches will conclude with world number two Alexander Zverev as the German takes on Andrey Rublev.
It has been a very consistent season for Zverev with the German almost breaking his Grand Slam curse after being two sets and a break up against Alcaraz at Roland Garros before losing. A great mentality has been shown by the world number two though as he has comeback to produce some great results and enters Turin in great form having won the Masters 1000 event at Paris-Bercy. Now Zverev will aim to claim a third title at the Nitto ATP Finals, backing up his two wins in 2018 and 2021.
First up for Alcaraz is Ruud who is a former finalist in Turin and has once again qualified for the season-ending finale. There have been some good results for Ruud on hard and clay courts this year although the Norwegian will be disappointed to have not featured in the Roland Garros final this year. However the world number seven enters Turin having lost eight of his last ten matches and will hope to produce some strong performances in order to carry some momentum into 2025.
Alcaraz will continue to be aggressive on serve and look to dictate on the forehand side as he will try to shorten the points. Ruud will use his backhand to extend the rallies, adding depth to his game while trying to keep the ball as low as possible. This will be a very tactical match between two players who need a win but Alcaraz should have enough quality and consistency to start his Turin campaign with victory.
A familiar foe and friend awaits Zverev in the form of Rublev who has had tremendous highs and lows this season. The eighth seed achieved multiple quarter-final and semi-final appearances this season as well as winning a Masters 1000 title in Madrid. However the lows have been pretty bad with Rublev’s on-court behaviour once again taking centre stage which included a disqualification in Dubai. The eighth seed enters this year’s tournament with an injury and now faces a race against time to be competitive in Turin.
Zverev will continue to use depth and hit his spots on serve with his forehand looking to do most of the damage. Rublev will use angles to make Zverev move around the court with the eighth seed looking to shorten the points. It should be a competitive match which will see Rublev take advantage of Zverev’s ability to play poorly in the early stages of tournaments. However the German should be resilient and grind out the win in a fierce round robin match.
