Alexander Zverev continued his unbeaten start to this year’s ATP Finals with a straight-sets win over Casper Ruud.
Zverev enjoyed a stellar season on the ATP Tour which qualified him for the year-end finals in Turin, where he is a two-time champion.
The 27-year-old won two Masters 1000 titles in 2024, as Zverev won the Italian Open earlier this year, before his recent Paris Masters triumph.
Zverev then reached the French Open final, coming up short against Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set thriller at Roland Garros.
His Turin campaign got off to a flying start with a comfortable win against Andrey Rublev before Zverev took down Ruud in his second group stage match.
It was another impressive performance for the German at the ATP Finals, who was then asked what he thinks about the young stars he’s competing against.
Alexander Zverev gives his thoughts on ‘exciting’ next generation of ATP stars
Speaking in his on-court interview after beating Ruud at the ATP Finals, Zverev was impressed with his performance.
“Good match, I thought both of us played quite good tennis, I’m happy with the win,” he said.
“I thought it was maybe a little bit better than the first match, even though the first match was quite good.
“I’m looking forward to Carlos [Alcaraz] now on Friday, and hopefully a few more matches on the weekend.”
Zverev will face off against Alcaraz knowing that a win will send him in to the semi-finals of the tournament that he has won twice in his career to date.
He will be wary however that defeat could see him exit the tournament, having been knocked out with a 2-1 record in 2023.
The German was then asked how he felt competing in the tournament as one of the older participants.
“It’s great, it means I’m old,” he joked.
“I still don’t feel old, I hope I have another solid ten years ahead of me.”
Zverev went on to say how he felt about the emergence of the next generation of tennis stars.
“I think it’s a young group of guys,” he said.
“There’s been kind of a shift in tennis this year, and I think it’s a good thing.
“It’s exciting with the new players, and everyone loves watching them.”
How young is this year’s ATP Finals field?
Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal from the 2024 ATP Finals has made this year’s field one of the youngest in recent memory.
But just how young is the 2024 cast of stars compared to those that we have seen in the last ten years?
| Year | Oldest player | Youngest player | Average age of field |
| 2024 | Daniil Medvedev – 28 years | Carlos Alcaraz – 21 years | 25.375 |
| 2023 | Novak Djokovic – 36 years | Carlos Alcaraz – 20 years | 25.25 |
| 2022 | Rafael Nadal – 36 years | Felix Auger-Aliassime – 22 years | 27 |
| 2021 | Novak Djokovic – 34 years | Casper Ruud – 22 years | 25.125 |
| 2020 | Rafael Nadal – 34 years | Stefanos Tsitsipas – 22 years | 26.75 |
| 2019 | Roger Federer – 38 years | Stefanos Tsitsipas – 21 years | 27.25 |
| 2018 | Roger Federer – 37 years | Alexander Zverev – 21 years | 29.625 |
| 2017 | Roger Federer – 36 years | Alexander Zverev – 20 years | 27.125 |
| 2016 | Stan Wawrinka – 31 years | Dominic Thiem – 23 years | 27.625 |
| 2015 | Roger Federer – 34 years | Kei Nishikori – 25 years | 29.625 |
Remarkably, this year’s ATP Finals isn’t actually the youngest of the last decade, in fact, there were two years with younger line-ups.
Both 2023 and 2021 had younger fields, but what must be said is that Daniil Medvedev being the oldest player at the event as a 28-year-old is by far the youngest we’ve seen in the last ten years.
Roger Federer was the oldest player we’ve seen, whilst Alcaraz was the youngest at just 20 years old in 2023, where he was also joined by Holger Rune, another 20-year-old.
The data shows that Zverev is indeed now one of the elder statesmen of elite men’s tennis, and the next generation is certainly well underway.
Zverev will be back in action against Alcaraz on Friday knowing that a win will secure his place in the semi-finals.
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