Zverev Opens ATP Finals With 6-4, 6-4 Win Over Jodar
Alexander Zverev has won his first match as world No. 1, beating Rafael Jodar 6-4, 6-4 in the opening match of the ATP Finals in Turin. The world No. 1 is the player at the top of the men's rankings, the list that adds up each player's points over the past year.
Zverev had lost his first match in the top spot at the Paris Masters earlier this month. This time he needed just two sets, each going to the first player to six games with a two-game lead. Jodar, ranked 11th in the world, pushed him for much of the match but could not break Zverev's serve. A break of serve means winning a game on the other player's serve, and it is often the moment a match turns.
The numbers on Zverev's serve tell the story. He dropped only 10 points on his own serve across the whole match. He landed 84% of his first serves, the first attempt at each point, and hit 10 aces, which are serves the opponent does not get a racket on. Zverev's serving stats were reported by the BBC.
Jodar's story is just as striking. He started the year ranked outside the world's top 150, and he now sits 11th. Making the ATP Finals is a big step for any player, and he took his first match against the world No. 1 into the second set level on games before losing it.
Zverev's career already includes some heavy hitting. He has won the French Open and the US Open, and he reached the Wimbledon final. Winning in Turin is a different test, because the season-ending event brings the best of the year together in one place.
There was also doubles action on the day. Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara, the defending champions in Turin, beat Rafael Matos and Orlando Luz 6-3, 5-7, 10-4. The 10-4 scoreline was a match tiebreak, a first-to-10-points decider played in place of a third set, and Patten and Heliovaara won it by six points.
For Zverev, the week starts with a win that restores his form in the top spot after a difficult Paris. For Jodar, the message is that his rise is still going. Both will look for a second win in the group stage, where a single defeat can change the picture quickly.
