Alcaraz looks to serve up trouble for Zverev

On Thursday morning, Carlos Alcaraz turned up at the practice court in Turin’s Inalpi Arena without the nose strip he wore to help with his breathing in his second match at the Nitto ATP Finals, in which he defeated Andrey Rublev.

This was the first sign that the Spaniard, who has been feeling under the weather for a few days, is finally on the mend. On Friday he will have to get past Alexander Zverev and hope for a favourable result in the other match (Casper Ruud vs. Rublev) if he is to reach the tournament’s semi-finals.

At the end of his practice session, which he shared with Andres Martin, one of the tournament’s sparring partners, Alcaraz stayed behind with Juan Carlos Ferrero to work on his serve, aiming at cones placed on the court to improve his accuracy and speed.

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The goal was clear: to continue ramping up the power of a delivery that proved decisive when it came to sinking Rublev. In his second clash in Turin, Alcaraz unleashed 10 aces, won 84% of points played on his first serve and faced no break points. These numbers paved the way for his first win in the John Newcombe Group.

Against Zverev, one of the biggest servers on the ATP Tour, the Spaniard knows he will face an uphill battle on Turin’s indoor fast court if he does not bring his best serve with him. Although the record between the two players is tied (5-5 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head), the Spaniard has had his way with the No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings the last two times they crossed paths this season, in the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the Roland Garros final.

The serve has been a key part of Alcaraz’s arsenal in 2024; the Murcia native has landed 245 aces, put the ball in play with 65 per cent of his first serves, points of which he won 73 per cent, and saved 62 per cent of the break points he has faced.

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