Alexander Zverev escapes in thriller: saves three set points to beat Ben Shelton at ATP Finals

Alexander Zverev debuted with a victory at the ATP Finals, overcoming Ben Shelton in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6, and taking the lead in the Bjorn Borg Group. The German is in his 8th appearance at the year-end tournament, where he has already won the title on two occasions (2018, 2021).

Zverev arrived after the last few weeks of competition with great consistency. He held a 6-2 record in his last couple of indoor hardcourt tournaments, losing only to Jannik Sinner in the Vienna final and the Paris Masters semi-finals. However, the painful loss in Paris (1-6, 0-6) sowed some doubts about how he would arrive in Turin, but he showed that he has put the difficult moment behind him.

On the other side, Shelton was making his debut at the ATP Finals, and although he had a good start, the second serve became a major headache throughout much of the match, while Zverev was practically untroubled. The German won a total of 85% of points on his serve, far exceeding the American's 64%.

The result of the duel leaves Zverev as the group leader, awaiting what happens this Monday between Jannik Sinner (1st) and Felix Auger-Aliassime (8th), who will make their debut in the Monday night match.

It is no surprise to see Zverev imposing himself with his serve—especially on indoor hardcourts, a surface that has brought him great success, with two ATP Finals titles out of a total of 8 indoor hardcourt titles. From the first set, the German made it clear he would not give his opponent many opportunities, easily winning his service games, while Shelton had to work a bit harder, facing a Zverev who managed to get the ball in play against Shelton’s serves—requiring the American to fight for a few extra points before closing the games.

The American struggled with his second serve: while he won 80% of first-serve points, he only managed 11% on his second serve. This was the key element that gave Zverev the advantage in the 5th game, where he took a break to love and then advanced on his serve to 4-2. The 3-time major runner-up conceded only one point on his serve throughout the set. At 5-3, Shelton faltered again with the second serve, and Sascha ultimately took the set 6-3 after just 28 minutes.

Toward the start of the second set, things maintained a similar tone. For the first time, Zverev faced a 15-30—but he navigated it with a pair of aces and good first serves. As both players advanced on their serves, the first break points appeared in Zverev's favor, but Shelton saved two opportunities against him to stay in contention.

The American World No. 6 managed to keep things level, passing without complications when he had the responsibility, but facing a Zverev who also offered few chances. Thus, everything led to the tie-break, where Shelton was the first to take the lead—advancing to 4-0. However, Shelton squandered the double mini-break advantage, wasting up to three set points—two of them on his own serve—and finally, Zverev notched five consecutive points and recovered from a 3-6 deficit to win 8-6, closing out the victory.