ATP Cup: Zverev, Berrettini won to keep the hopes of Germany and Italy alive

Top 10 stars Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini both made solid wins on Tuesday as they accelerated preparations for the Australian Open by holding the German and Italian tracks in the ATP Cup.

German world third Zverev survived a hard-working 6-4, 6-4 match against American Taylor Fritz, his second consecutive win in the new season.

Seventh-placed Italian Berrettini recovered from a shock loss to Australian Alex Di Minaur on Sunday and overtook Frenchman Ugo Humbert 6-4, 7-6 (8/6), who shocked US Open champion Daniil Medvedev over the weekend. .

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“In general, it was at a good level for the second match of the year, with high intensity and a hard punch,” Zverev said. “The bottom line is that Team Germany won.”

Earlier, Jan-Lennard Struff took Germany to the 1-0 lead, beating 7-6 (8/7), 4-6, 7-5 big-serving John Isner, who smashed 34 aces.

“It’s always hard against John,” Struff said. “I had played him four times before and lost four times. So I’m very happy to have a win for my team today.”

The win kept the hopes of the German ATP Cup alive after losing to Britain in their opening match, with only the best country in each of the four blocks advancing to the playoffs.

Italy, which finished second last year, suffered a disappointing loss to Australia on Sunday, largely due to Berrettin’s loss to live series for Di Minauri.

But he made a rebound against Humbert, winning 85 per cent of his first pass points.

“A really tough match, especially in these circumstances. He’s a great server, a tricky player, left-handed,” said the Italian, who dominated his pass and sent down 18 aces.

“It’s a big gun I have, and when it works that way, it helps me a lot.”

10th on the world list, Jannik Sinner put Italy on the road, defeating Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) in the opening singles in the second set.

“It’s never easy to play against him, it was the third time. I was in control of the first installment. In the second installment, I dropped a little intensity,” Sinner said.

Rinderknech defeated Sinner with clay in Lyon last year and seemed ready to drive another shock, but one mistake gave the Italian back to the feed and he made no mistake from there.

France are now 0-2 in the tournament after losing to defending champion Russia as well.

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After winning their opening match, Russia and Australia will face in an evening session with Medvedev against Di Minaur.

Canada, led by Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov, will face Britain in the second match of the evening.

The Canadians fell to the United States in their opening, while the British led by Cameron Norrie shocked Zverev’s Germany.