MADRID, May 13, 2018
Alexander Zverev clinched his third ATP Masters 1000 crown, winning the Mutua Madrid Open without dropping a set. The No. 2 seed from Germany defeated fifth favourite Dominic Thiem in Sunday’s final 6-4, 6-4.
Zverev won 83 per cent of his first service points and broke Thiem’s serve at the beginning of each set to prevail after one hour and 18 minutes. It was the longest match the 21-year-old from Hamburg had to play this week. Zverev beat Stefanos Tsitsipas, Evgeny Donskoy, Leonardo Mayer, John Isner and Denis Shapovalov en route to the title match.
A third Masters 1000 title!
Sascha Zverev flawless to defeat Dominic Thiem in Madrid 6-4 6-4.#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/Z6UhRrAZtp
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) 13. Mai 2018
“All in all, I’m just really happy with how I played, that I could win my third Masters,” said Zverev. “So far it’s been pretty good for me on clay this year. Hopefully I can continue this kind of streak in Rome. Obviously the altitude fits me a little bit with my serve, with how I play, with me playing a little bit more aggressive than maybe others. That definitely fits me. But I just feel confident and comfortable right now.
Zverev joins the “Big Four” of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray as the only active players to claim at least three ATP Masters 1000 crowns. He takes away from the Caja Mágica €1,190,490 in prize money as well as 1,000 ATP Ranking points. After lifting the trophies in Munich and Madrid, Zverev will next travel to Rome defending his title at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
“In general, the last 10 days have been pretty good, winning two titles in this time. One in Germany and this one here is massive. It’s been unbelievable. I’m not going to lie. I’m just going to do everything I can to continue this kind of streak, get the performance I had here in Rome.”
Mektic/Peya clinch doubles title
In the doubles final, the Bryan Brothers retired for the first time in their career when Bob suffered from a hip injury serving at 3-5 in the opening set. The Bryans were appearing in their 1,407th match and would have returned to World No. 1 with a win. Nikola Mektic and Alexander Peya captured their second title as a team in their fifth final. The Croatian-Austrian combination lifted their first ATP Masters 1000 trophies.
