World number eight Alexander Zverev won his first Citi Open title in Washington after he comfortably beat Kevin Anderson 6-4 6-4 to win his fourth title of the season.
The German, who didn’t even drop a set throughout the whole tournament, broke in the third game for a 2-1 lead in the first set. Anderson couldn’t get an opportunity to break Zverev as he found it tough to break down the German as he was racing towards the title. The fifth seed only dropped nine points on serve in the whole match as he comfortably closed out the first set in 35 minutes.
The German continued his new found dominance as he broke in the first game of the second set to gain a heavy advantage. The South African who will go up to number 33 in the World in the new ATP rankings, served spectacularly in the second set and did not let Zverev have another opportunity to break serve. However the only problem for Anderson is that he did not create a break point opportunity himself and could not impose his game on the German. On the 70 minute mark Zverev closed out the match to win his first tournament outside of Europe.
The title was his fourth of the season, following victories in Montpellier, Munich and Rome. The win also means he has now won an ATP 250, 500 and masters 1000 title.
The Secret Behind His Title?
The clear thing that Zverev needed to improve on was his clinical finishing at the net and a confident attitude on court. Two men who have provided that this week are Juan Carlos Ferrero and Marcelo Melo. Ferrero, the former world number one, joined the Zverev team this week and has brought a new positive attitude to the big German. He has also brought more clinical shot selection which has made his game better and has been able to finish opponents off easier.
Also World number one doubles player Marcelo Melo has taught Zverev how to volley and hit ridiculous shots at the net, which has helped him separate his game from the rest of the field. This could help him beat the top players at the peak of their game.
Speaking of Melo he lost his men’s doubles final with Lukasz Kubot as the Wimbledon champions lost to top seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers 7-6(5) 6-4,. It is their first title since their Australian Open victory in January.
Both Marcelo Melo and Alexander Zverev head to Montreal masters in their bid to win another title at masters level in doubles and singles respectively.
