Bigger words about Alexander Zverev. At 24 years old, the German (double 6-4 to Daniil Medvedev, in 1h 15m) already has a range of prizes available to very few, with the Olympic laurel around his temples and also with the master award, this one per game double. This second arrives in Turin, accompanied by a confirmation: an important tennis player is coming. Intermittent until now, but giving bites of prestige year after year, the giant from Hamburg expands and ends the year of his consecration, who knows the definitive impulse towards a higher stratum. It is demanded and expected, and it seems to have taken the real step forward.
Distinguished so far as a kind of classic hand, winner in territories for specialists and denied in the big ones, the German still has the icing on the cake of a major. He was deprived of it by Dominic Thiem, last year in New York, and he fell a few steps away this season in Paris and again in New York. However, if there is a player who has resized in 2021, it is him, who will seal the year with more titles (6) and victories (59) than any. Except for Novak Djokovic’s treble and Medvedev’s baptism at the US Open, there is no bigger news than Zverev’s reappearance.
The one from Hamburg rounds off an exceptional exercise, in which, in addition to celebrating in Acapulco and Vienna, he has won prizes of a higher rank in Madrid, Canada, the Tokyo Games and this master scepter that equates the Swede Björn Borg and the Australian Lleyton Hewitt, also two, one below John McEnroe. The German prevailed in an anesthetized final that dominated from start to finish, without the need to put the turbo, enough for him to serve at a good level and take a couple of bites. Solid as ever, Zverev confirmed his level jump and his remarkable growth in the heights.
The world number three outpointed two in a one-way duel and it was colorless, no chicha, unplugged Medvedev from the start and offering no solid sign of resistance. In this way, his winning streak in the tournament was cut short – he had eight wins since the edition he won last year – and the German won another trophy. There are already 19 in his locker and in five of them there is the seal of the Masters 1000, in another the Olympic gold and in two the master wedge. He won in 2018 in London and repeats in Turin, where he also knocked out Novak Djokovic again in the semifinals.
When Medvedev is not Medvedev
It all happened in a strange way. The atmosphere was cold, the Turin crowd was silent and what was perceived down there, on the track, did not help the afternoon to warm up either. The imbalance was clear since the German shook his nerves, calibrated and began to play for real. After the first two turns, Zverev rallied at will and in front, Medvedev attended like a specter, inanimate, without biting or that guerrilla spirit that characterizes him. Medvedev was absent, or was a hologram. He was not him. Not a single scowl, not a single gesture of rebellion. For not having, there was neither tension nor bad temper in the Russian.
”It is difficult to explain why. Perhaps it is due to the fatigue of my body or that mentally I was not at one hundred percent. It had no spark. The serve made the difference ”, alleged Medvedev later, in the conference room.
The disconnection was a fact. Number two came like a shot, but inexplicably fought with blank bullets, helpless. No fire. Too comfortable for his rival, too placid the afternoon for Zverev, who started with the ground he has been gaining throughout the year, this year of growth. Everything came out to German, who scratched the first break to the third game, aided by the tape, and then he dispatched each shift of duty with ease, concentrated and confident, but without that haughtiness with which he used to function until recently. The turn is radical and, in this version, Zverev is already serious. It would be real.
Along with Lendl, Edberg and Agassi
“I have won the title against someone who had beaten me five times in a row, so this was one of my best games. This is special, a great way to finish. I am incredibly happy and looking forward to facing next year, ”said the champion, joined by Ivan Lendl (1982), Stefan Edberg (1989) and Andre Agassi (1990) as the only four tennis players who have beaten number one and number one. two in the semifinals and the final of the tournament.
Dethroned Medvedev, who had beaten him five days before in the pulse corresponding to the group stage, the number three stands as the leader of the intermediate generation and is underlined by the hand of the Russian as the short-term references, with Stefanos Tsitsipas following the wake. “There is no better way to go on vacation,” says Zverev in his fantastic moment, boasting a service record that includes the knockdowns of Djokovic (4 times), Roger Federer (4) and Rafael Nadal (3). With a hectic personal life – he was denounced by his ex-partner for mistreatment – the tower (1.98) is inspired as never before by the slopes and continues to make his way.
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