Alexander Zverev kicked off his Nitto ATP Finals on a winning note, beating Ben Shelton by 6-3, 7-6(6) on Sunday night in Turin. The German is chasing his third title at the ATP finals, and he would look to go deep in the eight-player tournament.

Recently, Zverev could not bring his best physically in the semifinal of the Rolex Paris Masters against Jannik Sinner due to an ankle injury, but on Sunday, he ticked all the right boxes against the American.

Zverev broke Shelton’s serve in the fifth game of the opening set and from there on, didn’t look back to take the opener. 

In the second set, the German saved two set points in the tiebreaker and went on to win in straight sets.

Zverev said Shelton is one of the most aggressive players on the ATP tour.

“He’s an unbelievably aggressive player. Probably one of the most aggressive in the world,” said Zverev of Shelton. “In the tie-break, he started off amazing. Yes, I missed maybe one or two first serves, and the passing shot he hit (at 5/4) was ridiculous. I felt like I had to control the things that I could control and I was doing them well.

“At the end of the day, when the point is on his serve it is always in his control. When I get the return back and in the rally, then I can do something. I did that well at the end of the tie-break and I’m super happy with that win.”

With this win, Zverev improved his ATP head-to-head record against Shelton to 5-0. The 28-year-old will next take on either Jannik Sinner or Felix Auger-Aliassime on Tuesday.