When it comes to picking up the biggest gain of the season in men's tennis, Alexander Zverev must be the first choice. Aged 20, he has surged near the top of the ATP circuit having won five titles in 2017 including two Masters 1000 events (Rome and Montreal). Moreover, he seems ready to push himself one step further, and the current climate seems to be working on his way too. Currently ranked fourth in the world, he will surpass Andy Murray with a good chance to end the year as the world No. 3. The cherry on top is him having already booked a spot for the Nitto ATP Finals in London for the first time.
It'a token of his solid season. Up until there, he has few more stops on his schedule perhaps to regain his confidence before the big event.
This week, he leads the pack of the ATP 500 event in Vienna along with Dominic Thiem, Pablo Carreno Busta, Grigor Dimitrov, Kevin Anderson and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Alexander Zverev trying to bring back that summer breeze
The summer swing on hard court saw Alexander Zverev dominating the stage for weeks. He won back-to-back titles in Washington (beating Kevin Anderson in the final) and Montreal (def. Roger Federer in straight sets) before suffering a letdown at Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. He was expected for a comeback at US Open, but Borna Coric went on to stun the German early in the tournament.
The lack of luster kept coming as the action moved to Asia. Damir Dzumhur, Nick Kyrigos, and Juan Martin del Potro sent him off from Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai Masters. Now, he is back to Europe for the indoors hard session, the last chapter of the regular season.
Erste Bank Open has a tough draw
Seeded first in Vienna, Alexander Zverev will open his bid against Viktor Troicki.
If he gets past the Serb, Zverev will face Gilles Simon who got past Ernests Gulbis earlier today. The third round can bring Damir Dzumhur on the other side of the court with the Bosnian being in the best moment of his career. He has won two titles recently, both on Russian soil in Sankt Petersburg and Moscow. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is in the same quarter too as the Frenchman is having a late surge too after winning the title in Antwerp, Belgium.
If he survives this first challenges, the semis may bring John Isner, Pablo Carreno Busta or Diego Schwartzman on the opposite side. The other half of the draw displays a flurry of threats as Dominic Thiem, Sam Querrey, Kevin Anderson or Grigor Dimitrov are trying to make room for their own ambitions. Querrey and Anderson are in a tight race to secure the last spot that ensures safe passage for the ATP Finals.
Andy Murray is the defending champion of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, but the Brit has done playing this year.
