Sascha Zverev wins a complicated opener against Marin Cilic at the ATP Finals in London. This was the first time that the 20-year-old from Germany was playing the ATP Finals and he admitted he had to deal with some nerves.

The match

Sascha started extremely well to break Cilic in the very first game to then hold serve for the entire set and win 6-4. Later the German found himself in deep waters after he lost the second set and he was 1-3 down in the decider after he was broken in the 3rd game (1-2). Sascha found his range soon after to break Marin twice in the 6th (3-3) and the final game (6-4) and clinch the contest after 2 hours and 5 minutes. The final score was 6-4 3-6 6-4 with Zverev scoring just 2 points more than Marin (88-86).

I was a bit nervous. ZVEREV

During the post-match interview, Sascha commented “I felt a little bit nervous coming out for the first time here. I think that’s normal for anyone that is playing here for the first time. I’m very happy to get my first win in this group.”

Next vs. Federer

Sascha will face Roger Federer in the second match. The head to head is 2-all, but the German knows that beating Roger would be crucial for his chances to get to reach the semifinals. “I think anyone beating Federer in this group has a good chance of passing. But he’s the favorite definitely in all of the matches he plays,” Zverev commented. “I played him a few times this year now. I played him three times if you count the Hopman Cup match we played. Obviously, all of them were great matches. Hopefully, it can be another one.”