Alexander Zverev started his ATP Finals campaign in style by beating Andrey Rublev in straight sets on Tuesday, November 12 at the Inalpi Arena. Zverev didn’t break a sweat during the match and beat Rublev 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the second round of the tournament. The German recorded his 67^th victory of the season by breaking Rublev’s serve once in each set, which was enough to seal the victory.

With a clinical victory over Rublev, Zverev will face Casper Ruud in their next group stage match on November 14, followed by a highly successful match against Carlos Alcaraz. Commenting on his victory over Rublev, Zverev was delighted with his game and mentioned how he took advantage of his opportunities.

“It was a very solid match on my part. I took advantage of my opportunities well,” Zverev told Reuters. Previously, Alcaraz suffered a surprising defeat against Casper Ruud in his first match, losing 1-6,7-5. against the Norwegian.

After losing the first set, Alcaraz made a great comeback and went 5-2 in the second. However, the world number three lost a serve to bring the score to 5-3, sniffing out Ruud. The Norwegian happily accepted the opportunity and won five games in a row to hand the four-time Grand Slam winner a shock defeat.

If it could be better. Could play better: Alcaraz

After his defeat, Alcaraz praised Ruud for his clinical victory and revealed that he was unwell and therefore unable to perform at his best.

“I think he did a very good job today. But talking about myself, I could be better. I could play better. Obviously I could feel better on the court,” Alcaraz said as quoted by Reuters.

Alcaraz will face Rublev in his second group stage match on Wednesday, November 13 in the eight-man event that will be contested in a round-robin format.