- Alexander Zverev Italian Open victory ushers a new era of a journey to the top
- This is Zverev’s sixth victory in the Masters 1000 series
- He beat Nicolas Jarry in the Rome Masters final
Alexander Zverev Italian Open victory ushers a new era of a journey to the top of ATP Rankings after defeating Nicolas Jarry on Sunday.
This is Zverev’s sixth victory in the Masters 1000 and he says that it is an indicator of a bright future ahead in tennis. Jarry, a Chilean tennis star challenged the German and he unleashed his powerful serves to take victory home.
He [Zverev] acknowledged that Jarry, who rose to world No. 17 after the Rome Masters, is a great player.
Alexander Zverev Italian Open Victory
The Italian Open was Zverev’s 11th Masters final and special in many ways. It was his first since coming back from a nasty injury that kept him out of the game for several months.
A sweet sound to his ears is he rose to world No. 4 and it is a good ranking as he heads out for the French Open kicking off on May 20.
Zverev defeated Jarry in straight sets with a masterful serving performance, earning his second Italian Open championship.
Alexander Zverev in Rome. Photo/Eurosport
In a 6-4 7-5 victory, the German conceded just five points during the serve to earn a sixth Masters 1000 title.
Zverev aced 95% of his opening serves in the Italian Open final making a record history of 44 perfect serves out of his total 49 service points.
He went on his knees and let out a loud scream after the final set as a celebration of his comeback. The German stated that his last two years in tennis have been difficult and winning the Rome Masters 1000 event is a big deal.
“The last two years have been extremely difficult. I didn’t know whether I was ever going to be on this stage — regardless of winning or losing — so this moment is extremely special,” he stated according to ESPN.
How Did Nicolas Jarry Play?
This was Jarry’s first time competing in the final of a Masters 1000 event. He entered the competition seeded 24th but did an amazing job to earn the 17th spot in the ATP Rankings.
Jarry surprisingly defeated world No. 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinal. However, He failed to counteract Zverev’s arrow-like serve, which found its mark 80% of the time.
Nicolas Jarry with Alexander Zverev. Photo/myKhel
Still, he played amazingly well this being the first time he was playing in a Masters 1000 final. Zverev said that he played huge and beating the kind of opponents he faced such as Tsitsipas indicates he is a tennis player to watch.
The German also said that Jarry is on the way to winning more titles if he keeps up with this performance.
What Next For Zverev?
His focus is on Roland Garros and he is a clear favourite among the top four ATP players. Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
He is hugely promising on clay while looking at Djokovic’s recent run in Rome where he exited in the second round.
Further, second-seeded Sinner has a hip injury while Alcaraz has a forearm injury that kept him away from the Italian Open.
Moreover, Zverev’s physical form isn’t at its peak either. After taking a tumble during his quarterfinal victory over Taylor Fritz, he had his left pinky wrapped.
He later said that he sustained a torn capsule although this isn’t a major injury to stop him from winning. His terrible ankle injury has plagued him for the past two years.
He had to withdraw from the French Open in a wheelchair after tearing ligaments in his right ankle during a semi-final match in June 2022.
His comeback year was marred by inconsistencies and a delayed recovery. He struggled to go back to his best and had early tournament eliminations.
His development was even more impeded in 2023 by a thigh injury. However, his recent success at the Italian Open show that he is turning the corner.
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