Ruthless Zverev wins in Montreal
Originally published on 13/08/17 00:00
The rapidly-improving German was faultless from start to finish as he achieved a single break in each set to end his opponent’s 16-match winning run and once again demonstrate his outstanding quality.
It’s a second consecutive title success for Zverev after delight at the Citi Open last week and he has now won silverware on five occasions this year. The 20-year-old will be up to No.7 when the rankings are updated on Monday and he is a serious contender for the US Open.
The Swiss may have reached the final, but he had been less than impressive en route to the championship match. The 36-year-old was soundly beaten by a confident opponent with an insatiable desire to reach the top and his focus will now turn to Cincinnati.
For perhaps the first time this year, Federer was unable to play the match on his terms. The young upstart crunched everything in sight and forced his rival to retreat into unfamiliar territory. It seemed like only a matter of time before the German turned his pressure into something tangible – and the breakthrough came in the fourth game.
A backhand nudged into the tramlines from Federer gave the German a 3-1 lead and it took the 20-year-old just 30 minutes to move within a set of a significant victory.
The German had cracked 10 winners and committed 9 unforced-errors in the opener and he maintained his attacking approach in the second set. Both players were forced to save break-points in the early stages but Federer still looked uneasy in the baseline exchanges.
Federer appeared unusually ponderous and his hopes of staging a comeback were soon over. Zverev established a break in the 7th game and his outstanding serve enabled him to complete the formalities without too much trouble.
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