Alexander Zverev won his sixth Masters title in Rome and was one of the favorites for the French Open in Paris. The Olympic tennis champion from Hamburg won the final at the Foro Italico against Chilean Nicolas Jarry 6:4, 7:5. After 2017, Zverev triumphed at this clay court tournament for the second time and moved up to fourth place in the world rankings. For his 22nd tournament victory, the first of the season, Zverev received 963,225 euros in prize money. “The victory means a lot to me. Rome is a very special place for me,” said Zverev after his first title at the Masters 1000 level, the second highest category behind the four Grand Slams, since his serious foot injury two years ago. “It’s a very special week for me. The focus is of course on Paris, but first I’m enjoying this victory.”
With his next Masters victory, the 27-year-old also broke away from Boris Becker, who had won five tournaments in the top-class series. However, Zverev is still waiting for a Grand Slam title; Becker has triumphed six times in the four most important tournaments in the world. Zverev will have his next chance in Roland Garros (from May 26th), and the Hamburg native has the best chances at the climax of the clay court season.
After a rocky start to the Ashes season with early defeats in Monte Carlo, Munich and Madrid, he gained the confidence he needed for Paris in Rome. In the final, Zverev made use of his final experience. He was there in the important moments, like towards the end of the first set, when Zverev took the serve game from his opponent to make it 6:4. Both players made only a few errors when serving. The second round was open for a long time until Zverev struck late. The fourth match point sat after 1:41 hours.