Alexander Zverev delighted with 'great season' ahead of maiden ATP Finals in London
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Thursday 7 November 2019 14:48, UK
Alexander Zverev believes winning two Masters 1000 titles this season was a "great achievement" bearing in mind the "amazing" tennis produced by Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
The German will look to build upon his two Masters 1000 titles - in Rome and Montreal, against Novak Djokovic and Federer respectively - with a strong showing on his maiden appearance at the season finale.
Zverev, 20, is leading a group of players targeting to become the long-term replacements for Nadal and Federer at the top of the sport and the world No 3 will aim to impress at The O2 in London.
"I've had a great season," Zverev, who will play Marin Cilic in his opening match on Sunday, said.
"Winning two Masters is special for any player. The top four has been dominating that level of tournament.
"Nobody has won two Masters in one year for 10 years, outside those big four. That's a great achievement for me."
The four Grand Slam titles have been shared by Nadal and Federer this season and Zverev admits that he along with his compatriots on tour are all targeting victory on the sport's biggest stage.
Zverev added: "I think Roger and Rafa have been playing the best tennis of their lives this year. I really think that, especially Roger. He's only lost four matches this year. It's quite amazing how he's able to play at 36 years old; I'm not saying he's old or anything.
"What he's doing on the tennis court is amazing. Also Rafa, how he came back and played the clay court season was unbelievable. The most he lost in a set in the French Open was three games.
"Winning a grand slam losing three games in a set, max, is something that I don't know if we've seen before. All of us are working hard to try to replace them a little bit.
"This is what we're all working for, to win the biggest tournaments in the world. I've won two Masters this year. I'm still working on grand slams. At the moment what they're doing on the tennis court is amazing."
Despite Nadal and Federer's resurgence in form this season there is uncertainty over whether they will be able to sustain their level next year, with Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka all set to return from injury absences.
"There's a lot of question marks of how they're going to come back," Zverev admitted. "But they're great players. They're always going to be tough opponents.
"This is something I don't think about. I just want to try to keep playing the best I can, try to improve and try to compete in the biggest tournaments. It's as simple as that."
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The season-ending extravaganza ATP Finals at London's O2 in November ends another memorable year which will be covered via our website www.skysports.com/tennis with live blogs and updates as the season reaches its climax.
