ATP Finals 2021: Daniil Medvedev vs Alexander Zverev preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (2) Daniil Medvedev vs (3) Alexander Zverev

Date: 16 November 2021

Tournament: Nitto ATP Finals 2021

Round: Round robin (Red Group)

Venue: Turin, Italy

Category: Year-ending championships

Surface: Indoor Hardcourt

Prize money: $7,250,000

Match timing: 2 pm local time, 1 pm GMT, 9 am EST, 6.30 pm IST

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video

Daniil Medvedev vs Alexander Zverev preview

Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev will square off against each other in their second round-robin encounter, which is scheduled for the evening session on Tuesday.

Medvedev outplayed Hubert Hurkacz in his first group game on Sunday, winning 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 in exactly two hours. The World No. 2 was almost flawless, with a whopping 32 winners against eight unforced errors. Medvedev won 83% of his first serve points, and more impressively, didn't face a break point all match.

The reason he dropped the opening set was that Hurkacz himself played like a man possessed in the tiebreaker. The Pole also struck 32 winners in the match, a large chunk of which came in the first frame.

Daniil Medvedev after beating Hubert Hurkacz

But the US Open champion ultimately broke down Hurkacz's backhand, which ended up being the difference. The Pole found it increasingly tougher to stay with Medvedev off that wing, ultimately finishing with a 7-11 ratio of winners to errors.

Alexander Zverev also got a win under his belt on Sunday, as Matteo Berrettini was forced to retire after hurting his left oblique. Zverev was leading 7-6(7) 1-0 when the Italian signaled that he could no longer continue.

Berrettini did have his chances to pocket the opening set, but he squandered a couple of set points with the German serving at 5-6. Zverev then rallied from 3-5 down in the tiebreaker to nose ahead in the match.

The World No. 3 struck 21 winners, including 10 aces, while leaking just nine unforced errors during the 100-odd minutes he spent on court.

Daniil Medvedev vs Alexander Zverev head-to-head

The head-to-head between Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev is tied at 5-5. But Medvedev has won their last four encounters, including a 6-2, 6-2 hammering at the recently concluded Paris Masters.

Daniil Medvedev vs Alexander Zverev prediction

Daniil Medvedev comes into this match on another run of strong indoor hardcourt form. It took an inspired and tactically astute performance from Novak Djokovic to beat the Russian at Paris, and Alexander Zverev will need to play out of his skin to get a similar result.

The courts are lightning quick at the ATP Finals as per Medvedev himself, which should work even more in his favor. Zverev will need to adjust his game to the surface and be more aggressive than usual if he wants to turn the tables on the US Open champion.

The German has a wide wingspan, and he also has the ability to hit winners at will. But he tends to become tentative when he has the chance to finish a point, which could hurt him in Turin.

A conservative approach will only play into the Russian's hands, given how he excels at winning long rallies.

Prediction: Daniil Medvedev to win in three sets.

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