ZVEREV STOKED BY 'SHIFT'

At 27, the German emerges as a veteran but he feels ready to take on rising stars

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Alexander Zverev wants to prove that he can compete with the younger generation of tennis stars, and the 27-year-old is eagerly anticipating his ATP Finals clash with Carlos Alcaraz on Nov 15.

The German world No. 2 put on a punishing display against Norway's Casper Ruud on Nov 13 to prevail in straight sets 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, and all but ensure a spot in the last four with his second win from as many matches.

He took charge of the clash in the tiebreak at the end of the first set, which before then had gone entirely with serve, and the pair exchanged blows until Zverev broke in Game 8 of the second set and then served to love to win.

"I think it was a very good match actually from both of us," said Zverev on the Turin court.

"I'm happy to win today but it was very, very close. One or two points decided the first set and I thought the level was very high from both of us.

"Maybe it was even better than my first match, even though the first match was quite good as well. I'm looking forward to Carlos now on Friday and, hopefully, more matches at the weekend."