Zverev fends off Federer in semis of Nitto ATP Finals

For the second year in a row, Roger Federer fell victim to an upset in the semifinals of the year-end championship. In 2017 it was David Goffin; this time around it was Alexander Zverev.

The 21-year-old turned in a stellar performance from start to finish, defeating Federer 7-5, 7-6(5) in one hour and 35 minutes at the Nitto ATP Finals on Saturday afternoon. Zverev struck more winners (23) than errors (20) and cracked seven aces compared to only one double-fault. He served at 66 percent and won 88 percent of his first-serve points while advancing into Sunday’s championship match against either Novak Djokovic or Kevin Anderson.

It brought a somewhat controversial end to the Federer’s season following an incident at 3-4 in the second-set tiebreaker. Zverev stopped playing in the middle of the point because a ballboy dropped a ball behind the Swiss’ baseline. Chair umpire Carlos Bernardes did not see it, but he agreed to call a let after the ballboy confirmed what had happened. On the replay, Zverev–of course–blasted an ace for 4-4.

The German is the first from his nation into the final of this tournament in 22 years (Boris Becker in 1996).

“(I) just wanted to go out there…I wanted to play my best–give myself the best opportunity to play in a final of an event that is one of the biggest events in the world,” Zverev explained. “That was my mindset. I knew I had to be aggressive. I knew I had to kind of play my best game to even have a chance. It worked out well.”

“I didn’t think I was hitting my spots very well for the majority of the match,” Federer said of his serve. “I think it came towards the end, which helped me to make it competitive and close at the very end. I think I could have done better on returning Sascha’s first serves, as well, in spells. I thought especially on his first serve in the beginning I struggled. I got into a better rhythm after that.

“Obviously having the break and giving it back again, that was disappointing. I feel like I can play better,but did that have anything to do with Sascha’s game? Maybe, as well. Sometimes margins are slim; opportunities are rare. It’s a point here and there that maybe didn’t go my way….

“I was always running after the score (playing from behind). Over time it catches (up with) you, obviously.”

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