Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud are off to 1-0 starts at the Nitto ATP Finals and will try to take control of Group John Newcombe when they go head-to-head on Wednesday night.
This will be their sixth encounter, with Zverev leading the head-to-head series 3-2. He won their only previous indoor hard-court contest 7-5, 6-4 at the 2021 Paris Masters and also prevailed in their most recent meeting via a 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 decision in the semifinals of the 2024 French Open. Ruud’s victories have come in the 2022 Miami quarters and the 2023 Roland Garros semis.
Ruud did incredibly well to upset Carlos Alcaraz 6-1, 7-5 in his opening match inside Turin’s Inalpi Arena on Monday. However, much of that result can be attributed to the fact that Alcaraz was clearly less than 100 percent due to an illness. The seventh-ranked Norwegian is still a dreadful 3-8 in his last 11 matches dating back to the U.S. Open.
It is a much different story for Zverev, who has been in stellar form. The second-ranked German is coming off a title at the Paris Masters, where lost only one set throughout the entire tournament. Moreover, Zverev has a history of success at the year-end championship. Monday’s 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Andrey Rublev marked his 15th match win and he lifted the trophy in both 2018 and 2021.
On a surface that favors Zverev, there is no reason to think this will be anything except one-way traffic for the favorite.
Pick: Zverev in 2
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