Alexander Zverev tips ATP star ranked outside the top 150 to reach ‘the top of the game’
Alexander Zverev continued his winning streak as he returned to Davis Cup action for Germany.
The German won his eighth match in a row by defeating Matej Dodig 6-4 7-6(3) to give Germany a 1-0 lead against Croatia on home soil.
Despite the straight sets victory, Zverev was incredibly impressed by what he saw from the 21-year-old Croatian.
Speaking after his victory, Zverev said: “I had an extremely difficult match. I thought I played well but [Dodig] played amazing tennis today. I think we’re going to see him at the top of the game very, very soon.
“The power that he has, the talent that he has is incredible,” added Zverev. “I didn’t expect it. Credit to him. He played a fantastic tennis match.”
It’s unsurprising to see why Zverev was so impressed by Dodig, who is yet to make his Grand Slam debut and has never been ranked as high as world No 171.
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The Crotian rising star hit more winners than Zverev in their two-set contest, with an impressive 28 points compared to the German’s 22. 24 of those came off his vicious forehand.
Dodig’s performance against against Zverev was not lost on him either, as he described his performances as “Maybe the best match of my life” following the Davis Cup defeat.
“I was putting everything I could in. Playing aggressive on my serve,” he explained. “At the end I got a little bit nervous and started to cramp a bit, but I think it’s normal – first match like this against such a big player… I really enjoyed every second of it.”
Zverev could well by right about Dodig’s potential and fans will get another chance to watch him in action in his other singles match at the Davis Cup.
Dodig will play Daniel Altmaier next, who lost to Dino Prizmic in his opening match to make the contest 1-1 heading into the next day’s action.
Zverev will look to continue his winning streak against Prizmic, who raised eyebrows earlier this year by defeating Novak Djokovic in the opening round of the Italian Open.
The only two teams confirmed for the Davis Cup Finals so far are South Korea, who will be playing the event for the first time in their history, and host nation Italy.
The Davis Cup Finals are set to take place between the 24th and 29th November in Bologna, Italy. The winner of the tournament in the last two year’s is Italy, who have been represented by the likes of Flavio Cobolli, Matteo Berrettini, and Jannik Sinner.
