MUNICH, May 6, 2018

Alexander Zverev wins his first title of 2018 by defending his BMW Open by FWU crown with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over fellow German and three-time Munich champion Philipp Kohlschreiber.

On a sunny afternoon and in front of packed stands on Centre Court of the MTTC Iphitos, the World No. 3 dominated the action by landing 80 per cent of his first serves and breaking Kohlschreiber four times. Zverev finished the encounter after one hour and 11 minutes.

“I needed to play my best tennis today, as it is always tough to play against Philipp here,” Zverev said. “I also feel comfortable here. I like the club and the atmosphere. The whole tournament is very nice.”

And will he come back? “If the tournament wants me to play in Munich, I will return,” he said.  Zverev even suggested to host a Davis Cup tie in Munich.

The 21-year-old earns €89,435 in prize money, 250 ATP ranking points, a pair of Bavarian Lederhosen as well as a brand new BMW i8. “I will never sell my trophies. I drive them by my own,” Zverev is having use for his cars.

…and they fit! Sascha Zverev receives his second pair of Lederhosen in Munich! #bmwopenbyfwu pic.twitter.com/Uep4tcRm4T

— Florian Heer (@Florian_Heer) 6. Mai 2018

Kohlschreiber admits defeat

“Sascha hit strong shots with a good length, which made it difficult for me. He was simply the better player today,” Kohlschreiber had to admit. “It was a fantastic week and I will try to keep it up.”

Both players are heading to Madrid tonight, competing in the ATP Masters 1000 event at the Caja Mágica.

Dodig/Ram win first team title

Earlier in the day, Ivan Dodig from Croatia and US-American Rajeev Ram captured their first team title, winning the doubles final 6-3, 7-5 against Nikola Mektic of Croatia and Austria’s Alexander Peya. The encounter lasted one hour and 18 minutes. The tournament’s No. 2 seeds split €27,170 in prize money and earn 250 ATP ranking points.

“I always had great matches in Munich and I enjoyed this week here a lot. The match was at high level today. I guess we felt better during the crucial points. That was key today,” Dodig was happy afterwards.

“We both worked pretty hard this week. We had a couple of tough losses on the clay the last two weeks and we came here with the idea to work for this week and the rest of the season. It’s nice that it’s paying off right away,” added Ram, who made his first appearance in Munich this year.

“It’s usually a week that I have skipped. I have never been here before but I heard great things of the tournament. It didn’t snow, which is helpful and it’s one of the best that we have.”

Dodig and Ram both have only played one singles match this season so far. “We both played in Dubai, as they needed a couple of extra spots. However, we are both done with singles. That’s one of the reasons why we decided to team up. We felt that we had similar careers, similar pathways and I hope that we can make a good doubles team. The first goal will be to make the ATP World Tour Finals in London. We both made that a couple of years with separate partners.”

Final Notes from Munich

• More than 38,000 people came out to the venue of the MTTC Iphitos this week. Tournament director Patrik Kühnen: “We want to be perceived as an international tennis event.”
• Kissed by the sun: Spectators could enjoy the action in perfect weather conditions without any rain delay throughout the week.
• Alexander Zverev Sr. was honoured “Coach of the Year” by the German Tennis Federation on Friday.
  “He is one of the best coaches in history for me. He helped two players to break inside the Top 25,” his son and World No. 3 Alexander Jr. commented.
•  During the doubles trophy ceremony on Sunday, Ivan Dodig made a suggestion to the tournament’s main sponsor BMW: “Every time when I am on court, I have to look at this nice car. Maybe you will have at least a bike for the doubles champions next year. It will not hurt your budget,” he told with a smile.

Photo Gallery (by Florian Heer):