At the Nitto ATP Finals last week, Alexander Zverev summed up his 2025 as “an incredibly unsatisfying season” following his exit in the round-robin stage.
Could celebrating a maiden Davis Cup title change that tune, perhaps?
On Thursday, the world No. 3 kept Germany’s hopes alive in the men's team competition before countrymen Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz prevailed in a pulsating tiebreaker to deny Argentina.
Zverev fended off 21st-ranked Francisco Cerundolo, 6-4, 7-6 (3), in one hour and 35 minutes. The three-time major finalist fired seven aces and did not face a break point in leveling the scoreboard following Tomas Martin Etcheverry’s 7-6 (3), 7-6 (7) win over Jan-Lennard Struff.
Then came one dramatic conclusion past 1 a.m. Friday in Bologna.
Then came one dramatic conclusion past 1 a.m. Friday in Bologna.
Krawietz and Puetz squandered a 6-3 lead in the third-set tiebreak to Andres Molteni and Horacio Zeballos—and later a fourth match point. But the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals champions fought off a trio of match points themselves, at 6-7 on the opposition’s racquets ahead of 7-8 and 9-10 on their serves.
The last three points swung Krawietz and Puetz’s way to cap a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10) comeback as the match time approached two and a half hours. The ending saw Puetz’s forehand passing shot clip the back half of the baseline.
