Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers when they each try to remain undefeated in round-robin competition at the World Tour Finals on Tuesday night.
The head-to-head series is all tied up at two wins apiece, including 1-1 this season. Federer dominated the Halle final 6-1, 6-3 before Zverev won their only hard-court encounter to date via a 6-3, 6-4 decision in the Montreal title match. In 2016, Federer got the job done 6-3, 7-5 on the clay courts of Rome only to see Zverev prevail 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-3 in the Halle semifinals.
A back injury plagued Federer is his Montreal loss to Zverev and also contributed to a rough road at the U.S. Open, where the Swiss survived several tight matches before succumbing to Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarters. It’s safe to say that the back is no longer an issue. Federer is 11-0 since the U.S. Open with titles in Shanghai and Basel plus a 6-4, 7-6(4) victory over Jack Sock on Sunday in London.
“I think we’re all going to start playing better every round that goes by,” Federer said after beating Sock. “It’s just still early days in the tournament. (You) can’t expect to play your best against the best players in the world in that first match…. I think that’s the difficulty in a first round usually at any tournament. Here it’s amplified because it’s against a fellow top-10 player. It just makes things really, really difficult.”
It will be a fellow top-three player on the other side of the net in this one. Zverev’s ascension to the top of the sport in 2017 was highlighted by Masters 1000 titles in Montreal and Rome, plus additional titles in Montpellier, Munich, and Washington, D.C. The 20-year-old German slumped to the tune of an 8-7 record in his last seven tournaments prior to London, but he scored an impressive 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over World Tour Finals veteran Marin Cilic on Sunday night.
Thus it is Zverev who has a better lifetime winning percentage at the year-end championship than Federer. Of course, his sample size is just a bit smaller. Whereas Zverev is 1-0, Federer owns an amazing 53-12 career record at this event with six titles.
“I think anyone beating Federer in this group [would have] a good chance of passing (to the semifinals),” Zverev assessed. “But he’s the favorite, definitely, in all of the matches he plays. I played him a few times this year now…. All of them were great matches. Hopefully it can be another one.”
Given how well the underdog did to battle back from a break down in the third set against Cilic and how well he has played against Federer in the past, another competitive one should be in the cards. But the world No. 2 will likely raise the level he showcased against Sock and improve to 2-0 following a tough fight.
Pick: Federer in 3
[polldaddy poll=9873358]
If Zverev wins I’ll be the only guy who predicted it. Also predicted Montreal final
Are you ‘Olly’ who predicted Nadal to win the WTF?
Lol!
That’s not a prediction- it’s a guess.
Fed in 3, congrats to me
The only one from this forum? I think lots of people were not sure about Federer winning this. It’s not like he plays against Sock. So, you being the only one predicting a possible Zverev win over Fed is at least funny and hilarious.
Zverev bites the racquet knowing that he almost lost this match.
If Sock beats Zverev next, will Sock be in the SF? The way Zverev is playing, I think Sock can beat him, and Sock looks the player with more varieties in his game.
After watching all these matches, I think I’ll prefer Sock over Zverev to reach the SF. Sock’s game looks more watchable, at least he has a slice, Zverev apparently doesn’t have one.
A slice would be nice for Alex, but it’s his FH not his BH that has lost him this match.
yes. sock-Zverev is a QF
Wow, some great shots in that game, and those gets by Zverev in that one point were incredible.
Very surprised that Federer is actually winning some challenges here. He’s usually really bad.
Federer Monnnnnnnney LINE WINS! Who went with the GOATish old man?
Congrats to all the GOATfans(that includes me)!lol
-4 Fed Pre bet wins. +4 Handsome LB loses.
Over wins big!
Fed certainly was very, very far from his best but he’s a champion. AZ not so much. Not yet, anyway. Kinda suspecting Fed has back and/or fatigue issues. Still, against this pathetic competition I think he wins all his matches. Days off between matches will help.
Woohoo!!
Zeverev, like Thiem, has played too many matches this year and both are on their knees. Many of their generation of players are falling into the same trap in their bid to climb through the rankings.
good chance for Sock
Well done Roger Federer, the best tennis player.
very competitive wtf. all matches in rubber sets except Fed beats Sock. That somehow was quite even with one set tie break.
this is how year end competition should be with top 8 playing.
but rarely is
Lucky
If Federer wins the WTF does that mean he will get the No.1 ranking back.
No
he can’t be No. 1 until second week of Aussie
If Fed wins out in London, he trails by 140 points. If he were to play and wins Brisbane, wouldn’t he be #1 seed at AO? (assuming Rafa doesn’t play again until AO)
Rafa is defending QF points at Brisbane, and I think is scheduled to play it again in 2018. I guess that theoretically, if Fed managed to win WTF without losing a match, and then pulled out of Hopman Cup to play Brisbane or the like and won it, then maybe he would get to #1? I honestly don’t know. But he will not pull out of Hopman Cup…
I don’t think people realize just how little Federer actually cares about getting back to #1 compared to doing everything he can to be freshest for the majors…
I totally forgot about Hopman Cup. That’s not even an ATP event, is it? I agree about Fed not caring too much about #1, but playing Brisbane wouldn’t be any more taxing than HC, and he did play Brisbane for a few years, if I remember correctly.
I bet he will care next year. It’s very easy not to care when you’re not even close.
Maybe. But Fed knows he can’t play a full schedule any more. He has to pick and choose. Still, if Nadal, Djokovic, Murray and Wawrinka all have good years in 2018 picking and choosing might work much better. You’d expect 2 slams, 3 masters and the YEC to be good enough for #1 in most years, wouldn’t you?
he’s not WDing from Hopman
and Nadal is No. 1 seed at Aussie if he plays
Thanks for the info. After all these years I should be able get my head around the permutations. But I cant 🙁
I hope Sock is in the SF; he plays well, with varieties and with so much heart. He doesn’t give up and fights all the way, I prefer him over Zverev and Cilic, whom both look one dimensional (serve big and hit hard with little varieties in their games).
My guess is Fed, Sock, Dimi and Goffin in the SFs; yet to know who will be Fed’s SF opponent – Dimi or Goffin.
Fed despite not playing well by his standard would still beat these players because where it mattered, they’re not clutch but he is. It’s only the big four and Delpo who could anticipate well where Fed is hitting to and quick enough to get there on time.
I see Zverev looking lost out there when Fed hit his slices and then changed directions of his shots catching Zverev off guard. I don’t see those in the draw troubling Fed even when Fed is subpar, they have some way to go where their court craft is concerned. Playing against Fed, anyone except the very attacking or go for broke players (Kyrgios for eg) would have to turn into counterpunchers, unless you’re a Cilic on fire (USO2014) or a Delpo.
So has Rafa spoiled his chances for AO? Ricky saying above if he plays.
I know many Rafans feel I am pessimistic about Rafa…maybe..but no point being overly optimistic when outcome not in your hands. Look what he did to himself. He is in much worse state than he was after shanghai final. He should have just played 1 round in paris and wrapped up. He really needs to learn from Fed how to schedule but I doubt he ever will. Call me pessimistic but I see his chances at SO now after injury highly impaired.
Sanju, it’s also no point being overly pessimistic. You should do as you preach, that ‘outcome not in your hands’! So stop worrying, it is what it is.
Even if Fed were to become no.1 after AO next season, so be it. It’s up to Rafa and his team to figure out what they want; Rafa only wants to play and win, he doesn’t want to be so calculating in his every move. If he wins good, if not try again next time, that’s his mentality.
He said he never regretted playing all those events that he played this season, even though we’re here complaining about him playing too much. It’s his way of doing things, we have to accept and support him, it’s his career, not ours. He has to please himself, no point pleasing us his fans and finds himself not being happy with what he’s doing.
We can just hope he plays more aggressively to shorten points and shorten time spent on court, to reduce any potential harm to his body to the minimum.
No 1 is least of my worry. He has 4 year end no 1s that is enough. Just want him to win 1 more AO thats it to wrap up the double career slam which will be huge and something he was in position twice before and did not get it. Once he wins AO , I personally am okay if he does not win much after that.
I agree with Lucky about there being no point in being pessimistic about Rafa’s chances at the 2018 AO. It is out of our hands. It’s up to Rafa and his team to be ready. He’s got time and rest will help heal the knee. He will get rehab and treatment and the knee issue will resolve.
I am sure that Rafa will want to try again to win that career slam.
Rafa gets to make his decisions about playing. He has to live with it. If he wants to play, then that’s what he is going to do.
Fed is not perfect either. He played Montreal and then in Cincy he has back problems in the final. The sense was that he should not have played in Montreal. Then he struggled throughout the USO, especially in the first two rounds. He would admit later that he wasn’t okay physically or mentally. Yet he still played at the USO. That cost him a chance to get the #1 ranking.
There is no exact science when it comes to injuries. Rafa said I’m an interview earlier this year that he was told he could play in Rome last year. That the wrist would be okay. He did play, but then had to withdraw from RG. He says in hindsight it was a mistake.
This is the sport. There are risks. All we can do is hope that Rafa and his team will schedule wisely and that he listens to his body. He did skip Queens after winning RG. He got knocked out of Wimby in the fourth round, so he got some extra time off there. Then he only played five matches in Montreal and Cincy. He actually came into the USO undercooked with not much match play. But he was able to play himself into good form.
We can only hope that Rafa will maybe play less matches next year. His health is the priority.
I’m quite sick of Robie Koenig the commentator here in our live telecast of the WTF. He kept saying during this match, that had Rafa list to Pouille in R1 of Beijing, he doubt Rafa would be doing well at Shanghai and so Fed would then have enough points to become no.1.
Hello Robbie, it’s not only Rafa who saved MP and then went on to win the title; you forget that Fed saved MP in his QF vs Berdych at Miami, if he lost that match, Fed would be 820 points less than what he has now! He still won’t be no.1 even if he wins this WTF. These commentators, so biased, and I doubt they really watched and remembered all these matches and the details. Sometimes it seems their brains were born somewhere else, not inside their heads!
They are all blinded by Fed worship. Their every commentary is to make fed look good vs the other 3. It has been this way and will always be.
I hear Robbie Koenig drool equally over Rafa all the time… Just sayin’.
Nah, not these days. Ever since Djoko became Rafa’s nemesis, each time Rafa was playing, Robbie as commentator would comment about his opponent when they do something remotely similar to Djoko and from there blah blah blah about Djoko. Quite sickening.
Watch the Fedal Indian Wells match from this year, and you’ll see what I mean. Even after the first set, he was all about Rafa, saying he was still going to win and how Fed got lucky in AO and all that. That doesn’t sound like a biased guy to me, Lucky. Some other commies for sure can be annoyingly drooly over Fed. Koenig does that with all of them. You do tend to see things through “The-World-Is-Against-Rafa”-colored glasses, Lucky, so I’m really not surprised that you feel that way about Robbie.
Nah, at that time Fed hadn’t beaten Rafa four times! Of course Koenig would say things like that. Next time when you hear Koenig commentating Rafa’s matches, listen to him carefully. He would bring up Djoko, when he saw somebody playing the DHBH vs Rafa. I bet he would bring up Fed when he saw a SHBH opponent against Rafa these days!
FYI, I watched all the big four matches and listened to the commentators, it’s clearly about Fed and Djoko these past few years. When there’s a Rafa/Djoko match, Koenig would always favor Djoko, even on clay, that’s what Robbie Koenig is.
FYI, I’ve never have that ‘the world is against Rafa’ mentality. Please do not assume anything about me, I feel insulted by that comment.
Rafa is well loved worldwide, it’s just the silly commentators who are biased.
Have to side with Kevin. Check the 1:50 mark from MC 2017.
Phenomenadal!!!!
https://youtu.be/8Im259g8YeQ?t=110
#DontYou?
Hello, Koenig could praise anyone, not only Rafa, like that, and that’s nothing exceptional from Koenig. I mean Rafa is the king of clay, Koenig would not doubt him unless he’s facing Djoko.
Just listen to him when Rafa is playing on the HCs, it’s more doubts than anything else.
Nothing changes.
#EchoChambers
I think zverev will win the tournament. He will beat Socks, Grigor and Roger when they meet in the final.
How?
If he just plays a little better in the final if he gets there vs. Fed, and Fed is worn out and never find his rhythm. It’s not just us saying it- he said it himself in a post-match interview that he hasn’t really found his rhythm yet. If Zverev plays really well, Fed better find some rhythm.
How does he find his rhythm? A click of his fingers?? If Fedis worn out? How about Zverev looking worn out too? I doubt he would have an easier SF should he qualify. He’s not playing well in general, since Montreal. I sense a feeling of fatigue after a long season. Same for Cilic.
Fed beat him because of Fed’s varieties in his game, changing directions when Zverev couldn’t anticipate them. I would say it’s Fed not giving Zverev the rhythm that he needed.
Fed won because AZ lost focus in the third set.
It is kind of a draw judging by 1st and 2nd set.
Grigor would be a tough challenge but AZ can overcome that.
Fed would not be very fit by the time he reaches final. Look at how much frustration he had throughout the match.
I just don’t see how Zverev can turn it up to beat Dimi or Fed. He’s either over hitting or hitting into the net, giving me the feeling he’s always late to the ball. A subpar Fed could still turn it around when he’s down 1-4 in the first set TB, that’s how poor Zverev handled the crucial moments in the TB. After winning the second set, he simply went away in the third and losing it so quickly, didn’t look good – lost belief? Fatigue (20 yo bs a 36 yo)? Ran out of ideas or simply given up? Fed too good?
If Fed isn’t very fit, how you expect him to reach the final? Dimi is playing better tennis than Zverev here imo; Zverev may not reach the final too.
The way Dimi is playing now, Zverev will have a hard time keeping up with him should they meet in the SF. Dimi is smoking Goffin now, 6-0 first set.
Zverev has the power that can trouble federer. Gone are the days of retrievers and grinders like Nadal and Djoko troubling Feds http://www.138mph.com/tennis-federer-struggles-to-handle-zverevs-powerful-groundies-and-serves-at-the-atp-finals-in-london/
I think that’s premature, Kavita. True, Rafa didn’t trouble Roger too much this year on HC, but Djokovic didn’t play him at all. I tend to agree that the 2017 version of Fed would prevail over Novak -they were already very close in 2014-15- but it would still be very close. And Djokovic might come back stronger than ever; we just have to see.
Rafa wasn’t a retriever in 2017 either. I wonder why this Kavita keeps posting such poor analysis and yet wants people to read them!
Agree that this 2017 Rafa has played the most aggressive, non-retriever style tennis of his career. Especially at RG, USO, and Asian HC.
Fed wasn’t close to Djoko in 2014-2015; he was soundly beaten at WTF in 2015 final. Where it mattered, Djoko beat Fed on the HCs at USO final and AO SF. The AO SF especially wasn’t even close. A fit Djoko would beat Fed here at the WTF, highly likely imo.
Of course he was close. Slam finals were pretty close, though Fed choked in 2015. He was the better player that year but lacked the belief, imo.
Roger did win a few matches against Novak in those two years; slams matter most, but not to the exclusion of everything else. Novak was better overall, of course, but not by much. So yes, they were close. I think this year’s version of Roger, when fit and not tired out, would edge Novak on HC and grass.
Slam Finals weren’t close, except Wimbledon 2014 and maybe 2015 also. I mean lost in four sets I won’t call them close, even though many times sets were lost because of one break of serve. If that’s considered close, then most slam matches were close. Breaking of serves on HC and grass esp were tougher compared to clay, so getting one break in each set I won’t call that close, playing TBs maybe.
We’ve to agree to disagree here. Rafa for example lost some close matches, like Wimbledon 2017, AO2017 and AO2012; that’s my take.
2015 Wimby final was close even though it was four sets. Not all 4 set finals are close. For example USO 2011 final was 4 sets, but it was not close . Just like AO 2015 SF .
Slam matches between the two, I mean, not slam Finals only. They played three slam finals and a SF in 2014-2015.
There were two close matches at the masters level – at IW both times 2014-2015. The others were straight forward wins or losses.
I doubt Fed would have any edge over a fit and top form Djoko, except at quicker surfaces Dubai, Cincy and Shanghai. We’ll see whether the AO will continue to be as quick as it was in 2017 or back to pre 2017 speed. I guess Fed may have a good chance should the surface remains quick but it’ll be a hard fought one.
Kavita the POS 1-dimensional troll.
#GetaLife