The rivalry between Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev will surely come to define the next decade of men’s tennis. The powers that once were are fading and both Medvedev and Zverev look to be in good position to win multiple Grand Slam titles in the next decade. But who will strike an early blow by winning the title in Turin?
ATP Finals Final Prediction
Daniil Medvedev vs Alexander Zverev
Head-to-head: Medvedev 6-5 Zverev
Daniil Medvedev has, for the most part, looked assured so far at the ATP Finals. The Russian opened his campaign with a 6-7 6-4 6-4 win over Hubert Hurkacz and he backed that up by beating Zverev 6-3 6-7 6-3. The Russian then made sure of a perfect record in the round robin by battling past the alternate Jannik Sinner in a third-set tiebreak. Medvedev found things rather more straightforward in the semifinals where he beat Casper Ruud 6-4 6-2.
Zverev, meanwhile, started his tournament against Matteo Berrettini. The pair were in the midst of a close contest until the Italian was forced to retire one game into the second set with an abdominal injury. The German then lost to Medvedev in three sets, but recovered in a pivotal third match by beating Hurkacz 6-2 6-4 to make sure of his place in the semifinals. There, he edged out world #1 Novak Djokovic in three sets, 7-6 4-6 6-3.
But as impressive as the German’s performance was against Djokovic, Medvedev should still have the edge here. The Russian looks an exceedingly frustrating player to come up against thanks to his speed around the court and flat powerful groundstrokes. Zverev will be able to take the racquet of Medvedev’s hands at times, but he will need to rely on low-percentage plays to do so. In the long run, that should favour Medvedev.
Prediction: Medvedev in 3
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