ROMA-. Alexander Zverev gave a service clinic to defeat Chilean Nicolás Jarry 6-4, 7-5 on Sunday to win his second title of the Italian Open and lift his most important trophy after breaking his ankle two years ago.
Zverev started the match with three straight aces and won 20 of his 21 service points in the first set. The German did not give up a point with his first serve until near the end of the second set when the 2.01 meter Chilean giant managed to reach a drop and which he returned with a cross hit.
In total, Zverev won 44 of his 49 service points while registering a 95% first serve accuracy.
Fifth in the ranking, Zverev had to endure a long recovery after breaking three ligaments in his right ankle during the semifinals of the 2022 French Open against Rafael Nadal.
When Zverev broke Jarry’s serve to convert his fourth match point, he knelt on the red clay of the Foro Italico and screamed.
“The last two years have been very difficult,” Zverev said during the awards ceremony. “I didn’t know if I would ever be on a stage like this again, whether winning or losing, so this is an extremely special moment.”
Zverev also raised his hand as a candidate in the French Open, which will start next Sunday. And more so because of the doubts surrounding world number one Novak Djokovic and Nadal, owner of the Roland Garros record with 14 titles. Djokovic and Nadal succumbed in the second and third rounds, respectively, in Rome.
There are also doubts due to the physical ailments suffered by number two Jannik Sinner (hip) and third Carlos Alcaraz (right forearm). Both did not go to Rome.
“The target is in Paris,” Zverev said. “But let me enjoy this one for a day or so, and then I’ll focus entirely on Paris.”
Zverev, who has appealed a subpoena from a German court over allegations of assaulting a woman, faces a game that will begin in the middle of Roland Garros. He noted recently that he will not be present for the start of the trial.
He will also go to the French capital to defend his Olympic gold medal at the Paris Games, in a tennis tournament that will be staged at Roland Garros at the end of July.
Jarry, in his first Masters 1000 final, surprised Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals.
“It’s been an incredible week,” Jarry said. “There was a lot of sacrifice on my part and on the part of everyone behind me. It was an honor to play the final in this stadium, I hope I can come back and win it.
Jarry was encouraged by his grandfather, Jaime Fillol, who was among the top 20 in the world and who gave Jarry his first racket as a child. Fillol was part of Chile’s Davis Cup team that lost to Italy in the 1976 final.
It was Zverev’s third final in Rome. He established himself in 2017 by beating Djokovic in straight sets for his first Masters Series title and lost to Nadal in the final the following year.
Number one Iga Swiatek beat second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the women’s final in Rome on Saturday.
In the women’s doubles final, Coco Gauff committed a double fault on a match point and the Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini ended up winning 6-3, 4-6, (10-8). Gauff was paired with Erin Routliffe.
The Argentine Horacio Zeballos and the Spanish Marcel Granollers defeated the Salvadoran Marcelo Arévalo and the Serbian Mate Pavic 6-2, 6-2 in the men’s doubles final.
Source: AP
