ATP Finals 2021: Alexander Zverev vs Matteo Berrettini preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (3) Alexander Zverev vs (6) Matteo Berrettini

Date: 14 November 2021

Tournament: Nitto ATP Finals 2021

Round: Round robin (Red Group)

Venue: Turin, Italy

Category: Year-ending championships

Surface: Indoor Hardcourt

Prize money: $7,250,000

Match timing: Not before 9 pm local time, 8 pm GMT, 1.30 am IST (Monday)

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video

Alexander Zverev vs Matteo Berrettini preview

Former champion Alexander Zverev will begin his 2021 ATP Finals campaign against home-favorite Matteo Berrettini in a round-robin encounter on Sunday.

Zverev and Berrettini have been placed in the tougher of the two groups, alongside World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and Miami Open champion Hubert Hurkacz.

Zverev has had mixed experiences at the season-ending championships, winning the event in 2018 but twice failing to qualify for the knockout stages (2017 and 2020). The Olympic champion was knocked out in the semifinals by Dominic Thiem in 2019.

The third seed is among the favorites to lift the trophy this year considering his recent form. The German recently won the title in Vienna and made the last-four in Paris, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev.

Zverev has played second fiddle to the likes of Medvedev and Novak Djokovic for a major chunk of the season and he will be keen to make a statement at the ATP Finals.

However, he will not have it easy against Matteo Berrettini, who will enjoy the lion's share of the crowd support. Berrettini is making his second appearance at the event, having previously featured in 2019. The Italian failed to qualify for the knockout rounds on that occasion and will hope to go one better this year.

Berrettini is not in great nick heading into the tournament. He fell early at Indian Wells and failed to make it past the quarterfinals at Vienna. A neck injury kept him out of action at the Paris Masters, and it remains to be seen if he has fully recovered.

Alexander Zverev vs Matteo Berrettini head-to-head

Alexander Zverev leads Matteo Berrettini 3-1 in the head-to-head. Three of their career meetings have taken place on clay and one on hard, which Zverev won two years ago.

Alexander Zverev vs Matteo Berrettini prediction

Matteo Berrettini shares a light moment with Novak Djokovic in Turin

Alexander Zverev enters this match as the favorite, given his recent form and prowess indoors. That said, Matteo Berrettini will not be a pushover since he, too, has the weapons to succeed on faster surfaces.

The Italian's serve and forehand will be key against the German, who will rely heavily on his own serve to get free points.

Berrettini will receive plenty of support from his home crowd and that could help him raise his level. However, that's still not likely to be enough to beat an in-form Zverev.

Prediction: Alexander Zverev to win in three sets.