The Red Group begins round-robin play on Monday.
On Day 2 in Turin, two-time Major champion Carlos Alcaraz faces two-time ATP Finals champ Sascha Zverev. Alcaraz is making his ATP Finals debut, after missing this event a year ago due to injury.
Monday’s other singles matchup sees 2020 champion Daniil Medvedev take on close friend Andrey Rublev.
Each day, this preview will analyze the most intriguing matchup, while highlighting the other matches on the schedule. Monday’s play begins at 12:00pm local time.
Carlos Alcaraz (2) vs. Sascha Zverev (7) – Not Before 2:30pm
Alcaraz is 63-10 this season, with six titles (Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Madrid, Queen’s Club, Wimbledon). He and Novak Djokovic played two of the best matches of the year against each other, including their five-set thriller in the championship match at Wimbledon where Carlitos upset Novak. However, Alcaraz hasn’t won a title since, and has been less than 100% ever since losing the near four-hour final of Cincinnati to Djokovic.
Zverev is 53-26 in 2023, with two titles (Hamburg, Chengdu). His form has improved as the year has progressed, after missing the last six months of 2022 due to the ankle injury he suffered at Roland Garros. Sascha won this event in both 2018 and 2021.
Their head-to-head is all even at 3-3, though Alcaraz comfortably claimed both of their 2023 meetings in straight sets, at the Madrid Masters and the US Open. While Carlitos has not played his best this fall, he usually peaks for the big events. And Sascha doesn’t arrive with a ton of form himself, having lost five of his last nine matches. And as per Tennis Abstract, Zverev is just 2-12 against players ranked in the top eight this season, and has lost four in a row to such opposition. On Monday afternoon, Alcaraz should be favored to earn his third victory of the year over Zverev.
Other Notable Matches on Monday:
Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski (2) vs. Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler (8) – Koolhof and Skupski are this year’s Wimbledon champions, but have announced this will be their last event as a team. This is the ATP Finals debut for Hijikata and Kubler, after the Aussies won this year’s Australian Open.
Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden (3) vs. Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury (6) – This is a rematch from this year’s US Open championship match, when Ram and Salisbury became the first men’s doubles team to three-peat at that event in over 100 years, denying 43-year-old Bopanna his first Major title in men’s doubles.
Daniil Medvedev (3) vs. Andrey Rublev (5) – Medvedvev is 64-16 on the year, with five titles (Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai, Miami, Rome), though he hasn’t won a title within the past six months. Rublev is 56-22, with two titles, both on clay (Monte Carlo, Bastad). Daniil is 6-2 against Andrey, and beat him twice this year in straight sets, though at this tournament a year ago, Rublev prevailed in a third-set tiebreak.
Monday’s full Order of Play is here.
