ATP Finals Day 2 Schedule & Preview: Alcaraz and Zverev ready to start their campaigns in Turin

The second day of the ATP Finals will feature the debut of Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev for the John Newcombe Group. The Spaniard will start the day’s matches by facing 6th seed Casper Ruud in the morning, followed by Alexander Zverev taking on Andrey Rublev in the night session.

The first day saw wins by Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz, both delivering impressive victories over Alex De Minaur and Daniil Medvedev, respectively. The tournament offers a total of 1,500 points for an undefeated champion and a prize money exceeding $4.8 million.

The 4-time Grand Slam champion returns to the ATP Finals for his second appearance, after reaching the semifinals in 2023, where he fell to Novak Djokovic (3-6, 2-6), who later won the tournament. This time, without Djokovic, Alcaraz is likely the second favorite for the title behind Sinner, though he will need to prove on the court that he has moved past the painful round-of-16 loss to Ugo Humbert at the Paris Masters.

Alcaraz’s adaptability to any surface is well-known, although indoor hard courts are not ideal for his game. Nevertheless, with two Grand Slam titles this season, he has ample credentials to contend for the title, especially in Djokovic's absence.

His opponent will be Casper Ruud, who has had an inconsistent season, especially in the second half, and is entering the tournament in poor form, having lost 6 of his last 7 matches since the US Open. However, Ruud’s experience makes him a challenging opponent, as he has shown in past ATP Finals, reaching the semifinals in 2021 and the final in 2022 (losing to Djokovic).

Alcaraz leads the head-to-head 4-0, though both players are in different form this time. Their last encounter was over a year ago at the 2023 Shanghai Open, where the young Spaniard claimed victory in the quarterfinals.

Alexander Zverev has been somewhat overshadowed by Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, perhaps unfairly, given that he arrives as the second seed with 66 wins this season (just one less than Sinner, who debuted against De Minaur). ‘Sascha’ claimed two titles, including the Rome Open and Paris Masters just a week ago, and also reached his second Grand Slam final at the French Open.

The world No. 2, along with Daniil Medvedev, is one of the most experienced players in the tournament, marking his 7th appearance since 2017, with the only exception being 2022, when an injury in the French Open semifinals forced him to miss the rest of the season. Zverev has already claimed the ATP Finals title twice (2018 and 2021) and arrives with a five-match winning streak, having defeated players like Stefanos Tsitsipas and Holger Rune en route to the Paris Bercy title.

His opponent will be Andrey Rublev, the 8th seed, who benefitted from Djokovic’s withdrawal. Since reaching the final of the Canadian Open in August (where he lost to Alexei Popyrin), Rublev has not been at his best and has struggled to make deep runs in recent months. His last appearance was at the Moselle Open, where he withdrew before the quarterfinals against Corentin Moutet, shortly after securing his qualification for the ATP Finals.

Zverev leads the head-to-head 6-3, including his victory in their last meeting a year ago in the 2023 ATP Finals Round Robin (6-4, 6-4). However, their current form differs, with Rublev looking more vulnerable than in previous years. In his four prior ATP Finals appearances, he has only once advanced beyond the Round Robin stage and holds a poor record of 4-9 (31%).

[1] Marcelo Arevalo (ESA) / Mate Pavic (CRO) vs [8] Kevin Krawietz (GER) / Tim Puetz (GER)

[3] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) vs [6] Casper Ruud (NOR)

[4] Simone Bolelli (ITA) / Andrea Vavassori (ITA) vs [6] Rohan Bopanna (IND) / Matthew Ebden (AUS)

[2] Alexander Zverev (GER) vs [8] Andrey Rublev