Alexander Zverev defeated Alexander Blockx to secure his spot in the Madrid Open final.
The two-time Madrid Open champion continued his march towards a third title with a convincing win over the 21-year-old Belgian.
Who will win the men’s Madrid Open final?
After the match, Andy Murray’s former coach, Miles Maclagan, shared his thoughts on Zverev’s performance.
Miles Maclagan claims it is ‘almost impossible’ to win points against Alexander Zverev’s serve
During Sky Sports’ post-match coverage, Maclagan was full of praise for the world number three.
“He produces another high-quality performance. The areas of the game that we expect, the serving, the movement, everything was impressive really, he got his way forward,” he said.
“Let’s not worry about Alexander Blockx. We will be seeing plenty more of him in the future, a very, very bright future, and a taste today against one of the very best, a little measure of how his game stacks up, he will certainly get some feedback from that.
“But Zverev again proves that he is very, very tough to beat.
“Would have been really interesting to see Blockx roll the dice as he did at the beginning of the second, earlier in the first, to see if he could have maybe unsettled Zverev a little more early on.
“It’s tough to unsettle him when he’s a set up, but it’s easier said than done.
“It’s just almost impossible to make any headway in his service game.
“He’s landing big serves, clinical behind it, very tough to put any sort of game plan into play.
“But the shoe will be on the other foot tomorrow, he’s got to do that all against [Jannik] Sinner, or in a couple of days.”
Zverev’s serve is arguably his greatest weapon.
The 29-year-old statistically has the sixth-best serve on tour, but lands his first serve in more often than anyone else.
Alexander Zverev’s serving stats (Last 52 weeks)
- Serve rating – 294.7 (6th on ATP Tour)
- 1st Serve % – 72.6% (1st on ATP Tour)
- 1st Serve points % – 74.4% (27th on ATP Tour)
- 2nd Serve points % – 54.2% (11th on ATP Tour)
- Service games won % – 87.2% (10th on ATP Tour)
- Average aces per match – 7.9 (25th on ATP Tour)
Making the most of that weapon, Zverev eased past Blockx in straight sets.
“He just applied pressure throughout, a couple of tough service games right at the start of the match, but after that, he was pretty much free-wheeling,” said Maclagan.
“[Blockx] will maybe rue that 40-0 game right at the end there, when he did eventually get broken, could have guaranteed himself a tiebreak, where it’s a little more 50-50, but Zverev was just able to dial up the intensity.”
Zverev delivered an impressive performance in the semi-finals, but will need to be even better in the final if he wants any chance of stopping Jannik Sinner.
Alexander Zverev’s record in Masters 1000 finals ahead of Jannik Sinner clash
Zverev will have a chance to win his eighth Masters 1000 title on Sunday, but how many finals has he lost?
| Final | Opponent | Result | Score |
| 2017 Italian Open | Novak Djokovic | WIN | 6-4, 6-3 |
| 2017 Canadian Open | Roger Federer | WIN | 6-3, 6-4 |
| 2018 Miami Open | John Isner | LOSS | 7-6, 4-6, 4-6 |
| 2018 Madrid Open | Dominic Thiem | WIN | 6-4, 6-4 |
| 2018 Italian Open | Rafael Nadal | LOSS | 1-6, 6-1, 3-6 |
| 2019 Shanghai Masters | Daniil Medvedev | LOSS | 4-6, 1-6 |
| 2020 Paris Masters | Daniil Medvedev | LOSS | 7-5, 4-6, 1-6 |
| 2021 Madrid Open | Matteo Berrettini | WIN | 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 |
| 2021 Cincinnati Open | Andrey Rublev | WIN | 6-2, 6-3 |
| 2022 Madrid Open | Carlos Alcaraz | LOSS | 3-6, 1-6 |
| 2024 Italian Open | Nicolas Jarry | WIN | 6-4, 7-5 |
| 2024 Paris Masters | Ugo Humbert | WIN | 6-2, 6-2 |
The German is 7-5 in Masters 1000 finals.
However, his last Masters 1000 final defeat came in Madrid, potentially a bad omen for his clash against Sinner.
Sinner is 8-4 in Masters 1000 finals, but will be playing for his first Madrid Open title in 2026.
The 2026 Madrid Open final will take place on Sunday, May 3.
