A 14-year-old Andy Murray is taking a two-minute break from his practice session with Germany’s Mischa Zverev. As the pair get a drink of water, Mischa’s tiny four-year-old brother, Alex, rushes from his vantage point at the side of the court to hit some balls with his parents. Even then, he didn’t miss much.

Fast forward 13 years and Alexander Zverev is looking to follow in his big brother’s footsteps and make his own way on the ATP World Tour. Standing at 6’6’’, the tables were turned in Cincinnati over the summer as the German looked down on Murray when the pair reunited on the practice court. A huge fan of Miami Heat, Zverev could easily have looked at home on the basketball court. 

“I saw him for the first time in a long time a few months ago and I couldn’t believe how tall he was,” exclaims Murray. 

Tossing wavy blonde hair out of his eyes, Zverev recalls in his American twang, “I was practising with Andy in Cincinnati and he told me, ‘I’ve known you since you were this high!’ 

“I’ve known Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray since I was four years old. I didn’t realise who they were. They were like little kids for me. I was just playing with them. I played soccer with them, basketball, tennis. Now, they’re at the top of the game, practising with them and getting the opportunity to get to know them better is unbelievable. I’m really thankful to them for giving me the chance.”

Being around a tennis court is pretty much all that Zverev, who goes by the nickname ‘Sascha’, has known. Born in Hamburg to tennis coach parents, Sascha looked up to Mischa, watching on as his big brother went on to reach the Top 50. Aged seven, Sascha joined his brother at Florida’s Saddlebrook Tennis Academy for the first time and has returned every year for his winter training. Of late, the place he refers to as his “second home” has given him the chance to practise with leading Americans, John Isner and Jack Sock.

“I think he’s very good,” says Isner. “He’s very tall, which I like, obviously nowhere near as tall as me. When I practise with him, you can tell he’s pretty under-developed. And that’s a good thing. He’s got so much room to improve. Being a tall kid, he hits the ball extremely well from the baseline. He’s got a lot of weapons. I think when he grows into his body, he’s going to be a force. I really think he’s a good tennis player.”

For the past year, Zverev has employed the services of physical trainer, Jez Green, who was largely credited with two-time major champion Murray’s physical transformation from skinny teen to one of the Tour’s leading athletes. It’s an addition to his team that the Scot feels can only be beneficial to Zverev as he grows into his gangly body.

“Jez can help him for sure,” says the Dunblane native. “[Zverev is] very different physically to me, we’re very different people, so Jez will have to do some different work with him. We’ve obviously worked together for a long time. He has a lot of experience on tour. I’m sure he’ll do a good job.”

In an era when the average age of the Top 10 is 28, it is rare to see the likes of Zverev and fellow 17 year old Borna Coric having success on the ATP World Tour. But both have managed to make their mark in 2014, with the promise of great things to come as they continue to develop physically and gain experience.

Having started the season winning the Australian Open junior title, former junior World No. 1 Zverev was outside the Top 800 in the Emirates ATP Rankings but looks set to finish it inside the Top 150 as he plays his final tournament of the year this week at the Swiss Indoors Basel. Admitting he doesn’t care much for running around the baseline, World No. 135 Zverev has managed to impose an aggressive game in leaping more than 650 spots in the rankings.

Having felt disheartened by losses in the qualifying rounds of ATP Challenger Tour events in the weeks after his Melbourne victory, things finally “clicked” for the right-hander as he seized his opportunity on home soil in the spring to make his breakthrough. He won his first ATP Challenger Tour title in Braunschweig with victory over former World No. 12 Paul-Henri Mathieu. Then, at the invitation of Michael Stich, he beat four Top 100 players en route to the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour 500 in Hamburg. His run eventually came to an end in a 6-0, 6-1 defeat to David Ferrer.

“It was definitely a great run,” remembers Zverev. “Winning Braunschweig was unbelievable, then being in the semi-finals of an ATP 500, in my hometown, that was the greatest feeling I’ve ever had on a tennis court. Winning matches there in front of my home crowd, knowing half the people in the stadium. I’m really thankful to Michael Stich for giving me the opportunity there. 

“After the first couple of matches I was pinching myself, but then I tried not to think about where I was, compared with where I had been half a year ago. When I got in the semi-finals, I was definitely nervous. Against David, you want to play your best tennis, otherwise you’re not going to win, especially on a clay court. Hopefully one day I can play like him and maybe win another couple of games!”

One player who knows all about finding his feet on the ATP World Tour is 21-year-old Dominic Thiem, who has taken 100 places off his ranking this year to break the Top 40. The Austrian and Zverev fast became firm friends after playing doubles together last week in Vienna. Thiem, who reached his first ATP World Tour final in Kitzbuhel in July, is only too happy to pass on to Zverev the same advice that friend and mentor Ernests Gulbis bestowed on him in the early stages of his professional career.

“He’s a really good guy. There are not that many young guys from Austria and Germany, so I really enjoy [his friendship]. We speak the same language and have interests in similar topics,” says Thiem. One of those topics is surely hair styles. The pair could easily be in a boyband with their coiffed locks.  

“If he ever wants any help, I will give him some,” continues Thiem. “Ernests gave me a lot of advice, a lot of help, because he likes me. And I like Alex, maybe I can give him some advice if he wants it. Ernests told me everything about how it works on the Tour, how it is after a loss, how it is after a win. Usually you have one defeat every week because you’re playing against the best players. You cannot win every tournament, which is a little bit different from juniors or the Futures where you win a lot. I think you have to learn to lose also a lot.”

Zverev is certainly not one to get too carried away with his early success. Practice sessions with Murray and Djokovic in North America gave the German insight into what he needs to bring day in, day out, to make it with the best on the ATP World Tour.

“Their practise is just way more intense than other guys, their work ethic,” he says. “If you see them in the gym, they’re there an hour before practice and and then they do another hour in the gym after. How they work is unbelievable. It’s probably talent as well, but most of it is hard work and I hope I can work as hard as them and we’ll see where I can get.

“My Dad has the biggest role in my tennis. We both know that we have to keep on working. This is just the beginning for me. I’m only 17 years old. We hope we can have better results than Hamburg in the future. We’re trying to work even harder. We just have to see what the future brings us.

“I need to improve everything. I’ve been hitting with Andy a little bit, Novak. Their games are so much more complete than mine. What they do on the court, I can’t at the moment. So I’m trying to get better in every part of my game.”

His performances in practice and on the match court over the summer have certainly left Murray in no doubt that Zverev has the potential to be one of the world’s top players. “He’s a very good player. He’s obviously grown a lot over the past couple of years, so physically he needs a bit more time to mature and develop because he’s a very big guy. 

“He’s going to be a very good player. I don’t want to say how good. You never know with injuries or any distractions. I don’t know how hard he works, or anything like that. But just from watching his game, I could tell he’s going to be very good.”

Novak Djokovic crashed to a low point this June after spending months struggling in his recovery from a right elbow injury, falling to his lowest ATP Ranking, No. 22, in more than 11 years. Just five months later, the Serbian is back at World No. 1. And en route to the championship match at the Nitto ATP Finals, Djokovic dominated, winning all 36 of his service games.

But Djokovic simply fell short in the final, losing against Alexander Zverev, who is the youngest champion at the season finale since a 21-year-old Djokovic in 2008.

“Finishing the year as No. 1 [in the ATP Rankings], that was the goal coming into the indoor season. I managed to achieve that,” Djokovic said. “Overall it was a phenomenal season that I have to be definitely very proud of.”

A 6-6 start to 2018 seems like a distant memory now, as Djokovic, who was trying to become the oldest winner in tournament history (since 1970) won 35 of his final 38 matches on the year to reassert himself as the best player in the world. The Serbian might not have tied Roger Federer’s record of six Nitto ATP Finals triumphs, but he has clearly announced that he is back in peak form.

One might never have imagined Djokovic being in this position after the Australian Open, when he underwent a procedure on his right elbow. But the 31-year-old did.

“Yes, because I always believe in myself. Really, as I said before many times, I kind of also expect myself to do very well,” Djokovic said. “But at the same time I would sign it right away if someone told me because at that time it was also looking quite improbable that that’s going to happen considering where I was [ATP] ranking-wise and also game-wise. I wasn’t playing even close to where I wanted to be at in terms of level of tennis.”

Entering the final at The O2, Djokovic won 14 consecutive matches against opponents inside the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings, dropping just six sets in those clashes. So while he could not complete the perfect ending to a fairytale season, this is just a small bump, and not a cause for concern in the grand scheme of things. He still reached his sixth consecutive championship match (did not play in 2017) at the Nitto ATP Finals, after all.

“Obviously no one likes to lose a tennis match. You try your best. But at the same time, as I said on the court, you put things in a larger perspective, see things a bit differently,” Djokovic said. “When you get out of this feeling of a little bit disappointment that you lost, [you can enjoy] all the positive things that I have to reflect on and also take from this season, especially the last six months.”

It’s been an interesting journey for Djokovic in 2018 to say the least. Nine months ago, the Serbian was on an operating table. Now, he’s back at the top of the sport once again.

“When I went on the table for surgery, I knew it was going to be a different season because it never happened. Whatever the outcome in the end of the year, I knew that I’m going to learn a lot from this season,” Djokovic said. “Fortunately for me, it ended up in the best possible way. Yeah, I’m just grateful.”

Alexander Zverev became the youngest champion at the Nitto ATP Finals in a decade on Sunday, stunning World No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 to lift the biggest title of his career.

The 21-year-old, the youngest player to triumph at the season finale since Djokovic in 2008, was already the first German to reach the championship match at the season finale since 1996, when Boris Becker did it. And now Zverev is the first player from his country to lift the trophy since Becker did so in 1995, dashing Djokovic’s hopes of a perfect ending to a fairytale season in which he returned from a right elbow injury back to No. 1 in the ATP Rankings.

“This is the biggest title of my career so far. This trophy means a lot, everything, to all the players. I mean, you only have so many chances of winning it. You play against the best players only,” Zverev said. “How I played today, how I won it, for me it’s just amazing.”

One year ago, Zverev made his debut at The O2, falling short of reaching the semi-finals. But the 10-time ATP World Tour champion showed his growth, beating six-time champion Roger Federer in straight sets on Saturday and now Djokovic for the victory. It’s the first time a player has beaten both Djokovic and Federer at the same Nitto ATP Finals. Zverev’s the first player to beat the Top 2 seeds in the semi-finals and final of the event since Andre Agassi in 1990.

“It’s quite astonishing, winning this title, beating two such players back-to-back, Roger and Novak, in semi-finals and final,” Zverev said. “It means so much. I’m incredibly happy and incredibly proud of this moment right now.”

Entering the match, all signs were pointing to Djokovic tying Federer’s record of six triumphs at the season finale. The Serbian had won 35 of his previous 37 matches entering the final, and all 36 of his service games this week at The O2. Four days ago, he had beaten Zverev with the loss of just five games in round-robin play, and he walked on Centre Court having won 14 consecutive matches against opponents inside the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings, dropping just six sets in those clashes.

But from the first point of the match, Zverev showed no fear, standing on the baseline and trading blows with Djokovic, who for the first time all tournament appeared to be scrambling, and not the in-control defensive wall that had diffused attacks from the very best players in the world.

“I wasn’t trying to overthink it. I just tried to go out there and enjoy the match as much as I can, enjoy the atmosphere, enjoy the moment. That’s what I did,” Zverev said. “My serve has been working well the whole week. I had a lot of confidence in it. It all worked out well.”

Zverev was especially solid with his two-handed backhand, using good depth to keep Djokovic on the back foot. And perhaps surprisingly, it was the German left standing in many of the longer rallies, refusing to overplay and succumb to the top seed’s defensive pressure as other players had at The O2 this week.

The German earned the only two break points Djokovic faced in his first four matches at the event in their round-robin match, but could not convert either of them. In the final, however, Zverev broke serve four times in 10 return games.

“I’d like to congratulate Novak on a great week and the second half of the season. You’ve barely lost a match and I’m actually very thankful you lost to me today,” Zverev said. “We’ve played twice this week. Everyone knows how good of a tennis player you are, but I want to mention how good of a person you are. We’ve had a lot of good talks on life. I appreciate you letting me win the title today.”

Zverev, who earns $2,509,000 and 1,300 ATP Ranking points for his efforts, will finish the year at World No. 4 for the second season in a row. 

“I’d like to thank my Dad, who has coached me all my life. He won’t stop crying until next year, probably. Thanks Ivan [Lendl] for joining the team. I think it’s working out for now!”

Djokovic entered the match having won 81 per cent of his second-serve points at the year-end championships. But for the first time at the event, he did not dominate neutral rallies, claiming just 35 per cent of his second-serve points against Zverev.

While Djokovic fell short of matching Federer’s record, he has still enjoyed a tremendous rise in the second half of 2018. In June, the Serbian fell as low as No. 22 in the ATP Rankings, his lowest point in more than 11 years. But starting with Wimbledon, Djokovic won four tour-level titles to claw his way back to the top spot of the ATP Rankings.

Did You Know?
Zverev finishes the season with an ATP World Tour-leading 58 tour-level wins, surpassing his previous career-high of 55.

After beginning their partnership across the city at the Fever-Tree Championships in June, Mike Bryan and Jack Sock ended their season in style at the Nitto ATP Finals on Sunday.

The American duo, who end the season with a 20-6 record, saved six of eight break points to beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut 5-7, 6-1, 13-11 in just over 90 minutes at The O2 in London. Bryan and Sock have lifted three trophies in just eight events as a team, adding the Nitto ATP Finals crown to Grand Slam trophies at Wimbledon and the US Open. Earlier this season, the American duo became the first team to win Wimbledon and the US Open in the same season since Jonas Bjorkman and Todd Woodbridge in 2003.

The American duo will be presented with the title by Hideo Takasaki, President, CEO and COO of Nitto. ATP Executive Chairman and President Chris Kermode will hand Herbert and Mahut the runner-up trophies.

Having ended Group Knowles/Nestor with a 2-1 record, Bryan and Sock receive 1,300 ATP Doubles Rankings points and will share $479,000. Herbert and Mahut earn 800 points and split $279,000.