Top seed Alexander Zverev has extended his winning streak to eight matches after thrashing Diego Schwartzman 6-2, 6-1, in the final of the BETT1HULKS Championships on Sunday.
The world No.7, who is ranked just two places higher than his Argentine rival, experienced little difficulty throughout the 71-minute clash where he remained unbroken throughout. Firing nine aces, Zverev dismantled the Schwartzman serve by breaking him five times overall as he won 10 out of the last 11 games played in the match.
“Everybody who is involved with me and my work, it’s getting better and I think we are going to be on top of the game very soon,” Zverev said during the trophy ceremony.
Just two days ago there were concerns about the German tennis star who underwent a scan on his hip after experiencing pain in the region amid fears that he might have had to withdraw. However, there were no signs of physical issues in his latest match as he chased around the court without any problems.
“Two days ago I wasn’t sure if I was going to finish the tournament and now I’m here as a champion so I’m happy I didn’t retire,” the new champion reflected.
“Diego congratulations for the past few months since the Tour started again. I think you’re one of the best players in the world. Making the finals in Rome, semi-finals in Paris and beating top players.” He added.
Zverev has achieved the double in Cologne, which also held another ATP 250 event last week. Seven days ago, he defeated Canada’s Felix Auger Aliassime in the final. Overall, Zverev has dropped three sets in eight matches played to bring his career title tally to 13 on the ATP Tour. To put that into perspective it is six more than any other player born after 1994.
Meanwhile, Schwartzman is sticking to the positives of his one-sided loss as he continues his campaign to qualify for the ATP Finals in London. He now has a 410-point lead over Matteo Berrettini in the race to London.
“It is easy to find a solution when you play a different guy but Sascha was much better (than me) today,” said the 28-year-old.
“He is a solid and aggressive player. He has everything so he deserved to win and today he was perfect on the court.”
As for Zverev, who has already qualified for the ATP Finals, he exits the tournament with 250 FedEx ATP Ranking points and €13,320 in prize money. He is set to return to action in just over a week’s time at the Paris Masters.
