Alexander Zverev yesterday rallied from a set down to beat Canadian Denis Shapovalov and open his season with a fighting victory at the ATP Cup at Melbourne Park, while in-form Matteo Berrettini steered Italy into the semi-finals.
The seventh-ranked German dug deep for his 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) win to seal the tie, but gained valuable court time ahead of another crack at a first Grand Slam trophy at the Australian Open starting next week.
Zverev, who fell short in the US Open final last year to Dominic Thiem, said that having his brother, Mischa, as team captain had helped him.
Photo: Reuters
“All the players enjoy having him as captain, he’s been fantastic in training as well. It’s just great to have him here,” he said.
Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff upset Milos Raonic 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/2) in the opening match and Canada were eliminated after a second narrow loss for Shapovalov, who pushed Novak Djokovic hard in their Group A clash on Tuesday.
Djokovic’s defending champions beat Canada 2-1 in their opener on Tuesday and face Germany today for a place in the semis.
Italy became the first nation into the last four by beating France to follow their opening win against Austria in Group C.
Fabio Fognini won just five games in his ATP Cup opener on Tuesday against Denis Novak, but bounced back to battle past Benoit Paire 6-1, 7-6 (7/2) and give Italy a 1-0 lead.
Berrettini clinched the tie with a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 victory over Gael Monfils.
“I was ready for any score. I kept going,” said Berrettini, who recovered from going down an early break in the first set. “I thought about my weapons and that’s how I won the match.”
Russia, the only nation playing with two top-10 stars — Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev — also made the semi-finals, beating Kei Nishikori’s Japan 2-1 in Group D.
Hosts Australia, who lost to Rafael Nadal’s Spain in their opening Group B tie, defeated a Greek team spearheaded by Stefanos Tsitsipas 2-1. They face France today, while Greece are to play Spain.
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