Alexander Zverev will be bidding to win his third ATP Finals title next week, but faces an almighty task to achieve that feat.
After all, he enters one of the most fiercely contested battles for success in recent memory, as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will both want this title more than anything.
It is not just glory on the line with this spellbinding duo, who are by far the best two players on the ATP Tour. Adding to that, there is also a chance that both could finish as the year-end world number one, should things go their way.
With that in mind, many are discounting the rest of the competition, including Alexander Zverev, from being a threat.
He spoke about such a notion just yesterday.
Alexander Zverev shares his reaction to people’s opinions of him
Speaking to SuperTennisTV ahead of the ATP Finals, he was asked about whether he felt some tennis fans might have misconceptions about him.
His answer was refreshingly open and relatively blunt, replying: “I think people nowadays really have a problem with professional athletes, more famous people in general, to be honest.
“I think you always have to say what everybody wants you to say, right? They always would like to just hear the things that are right. And I’m not that kind of person.
“I think, you know, people like… the media doesn’t like that, but I always stay true to myself in that way. So maybe that’s one of the reasons sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it, but I’m never just neutral, you know, in anybody’s eyes.
“But if people can’t handle the truth and be honest, that’s not my problem.”
Zverev has lost to Sinner in Vienna and the Paris Masters recently, which could contribute to the lack of expectation on him to win the entire event this coming week.
How has Alexander Zverev performed at the ATP Finals in the past?
Unlike the Grand Slams, which continue to elude Zverev, the ATP Finals have been a happy hunting ground for the German historically.
After all, he is a two-time winner at this major event, having beaten Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev on the occasions when he has lifted this trophy.
His first triumph came in 2018, and despite following that up with a semi-final run the following year, it would take until 2021 before he lifted this trophy again.
Zverev has qualified for this event every year since 2017 except for one, with his 2022 campaign curtailed by injuries.
