Alexander Zverev beats Roger Federer in Montreal plus Marin Cilic
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Alexander Zverev isn’t letting the pressure of sudden attention affect his game on the court, and he became the third man to beat Roger Federer this year, winning his fifth title of 2017 in Montreal. Not bad for a 20-year old.
There is a new champion at the Coupe Rogers, and his name is Alexander Zverev. The #NextGenATP German was in a relentless rhythm throughout the final in Montreal and would take the title 6-3, 6-4 over Roger Federer.
Zverev claimed his second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy, adding to his maiden title in Rome (d. Djokovic) earlier this year. He became the first player outside the Big Four of Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray to win multiple Masters 1000 titles in a season since David Nalbandian in 2007. In addition, he is just the second active player other than the Big Four to win more than one Masters 1000 crown, joining Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Zverev, who secured his place in the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan with a semi-final win over Denis Shapovalov, was dominant in all facets on Sunday. The German struck his serve with aggressive alacrity, and his powerful groundstrokes opened the court for finishing blows. He also moves to third in the Emirates ATP Race To London, with his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals receiving a significant boost.
The 20-year-old added a tour-leading fifth ATP World Tour title of the season, joining Federer atop the leaderboard. In addition to his victory in Rome, he previously prevailed in Marseille, Munich and last week in Washington.
Zverev fired 20 winners, including six aces, during the swift 68-minute affair. He was a force on serve, saving all three break points faced, while claiming two of six of his own. Most impressively, the German refused to allow Federer to find his rhythm from the baseline and on return, claiming 75 per cent of total service points and dominating rallies from the back of the court. Two breaks – at 2-1 in the first set and 3-all in the second – were all Zverev needed to cross the finish line. He closed out the victory with a service winner on his first match point.
Winner of $894,585 in prize money and 1,000 Emirates ATP Rankings points, Zverev is the youngest champion at the Coupe Rogers since Djokovic in 2007. He is also the first German titlist in more than 30 years since Boris Becker prevailed in Toronto in 1986.
Breaking it down set by set Zverev vs. Federer
FIRST SET – Zverev 6-3
Both players will have their last FedEx ATP Head2Head encounter fresh in their minds as they enter Court Central. A comprehensive 6-1, 6-3 victory in the Gerry Weber Open final in June was a statement win for Federer. But now under the tutelage of former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, Zverev is well aware of his gameplan against the Swiss. It’s a matter of execution.
Zverev had Federer on his heels from the start on a sun-kissed afternoon in the Canadian metropolis. The German was poised and aggressive off the ground to create space for his power game. Short-angled winners off thumping forehands and backhands sent an immediate message to the 36-year-old Swiss, as he grabbed a quick break for 3-1.
Zverev consolidated for 4-1 and did well to escape a 30-all moment of danger in the subsequent game. Federer earned a quick hold to love for 5-3, but it was Zverev who would close out the opener with aplomb after just 30 minutes.
SECOND SET – Zverev 6-4
Momentum on serve proved to be the critical factor in their Halle encounter in June, with Federer dominating the first serve points won by a margin of 93-53 per cent. But it was Zverev who would set the tone early with his own service rhythm. The 20-year-old defended his serve well, claiming an efficient 73 per cent of second serve points in the opening set. He was very aggressive in launching his second delivery, with one clocked at 132 mph.
Zverev’s serve was immediately put to the test in the second set, as Federer earned a trio of break points in his first service game. The fourth seed would save them all in dominant fashion, firing a pair of service winners to hold for 1-all.
The 20-year-old claimed the point of the match in the next game, as Federer misfired on an overhead smash and the #NextGenATP used his great agility to scamper for a pair of sensational defensive digs and eventually forced a forehand error from the former World No. 1.
Zverev continued to breeze through his service games in the second set, and he would take advantage of an error-strewn game from Federer to break for 4-3. It proved to be the decisive break for the fourth seed, who cruised to the finish line after a mere 68 minutes. A service winner capped a scintillating performance, as Zverev notched his fifth ATP World Tour title of the season and second at the Masters 1000 level.
Elina Svitolina defeated Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-0 to win the Rogers Cup women’s tennis tournament on Sunday.
It was Svitolina’s fifth WTA Tour title of the season.
The 22-year-old Ukrainian used powerful groundstrokes and a big serve to keep the sixth-ranked Wozniacki off balance.
A break at love at 4-4 gave the fifth-ranked Svitolina the edge in the first set. She wasn’t threatened again in the 77-minute match.
Svitolina had a clear edge from the baseline thanks to her impressive retrieving ability. Wozniacki was forced to go for more winners and started making more unforced errors as a result.
Wozniacki, a 27-year-old former world No. 1 from Denmark, varied her shots throughout the match, combining power with more looping topspin returns.
Svitolina wasn’t fazed as her consistency and power game proved to be too much.
It was Svitolina’s fourth victory over a top-10 opponent this week and third win in two days.
She beat ninth-ranked Venus Williams in the third round, topped No. 4 Garbine Muguruza in a rain-delayed quarterfinal Saturday morning and downed No. 2 Simona Halep on Saturday night.
It was Svitolina’s third Premier 5 title of the year.
Svitolina has reached five finals this year and won them all. Wozniacki fell to 0-6 in final appearances this season and is 0-3 in head-to-head matches against Svitolina.
Svitolina will move one spot to a career-high No. 4 when the new rankings are released Monday.
The women’s doubles final was scheduled for later Sunday.
Top-seeded Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina were to meet eighth-seeded Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany and Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic.
Wimbledon finalist Marin Cilic will miss the Cincinnati Masters after withdrawing from the Rogers Cup in Montreal because of an abductor injury.
Cilic said Friday that “I have already started with my preparation and the progress is going well, but there isn’t enough time for me to prepare for Cincinnati and to be completely ready to play there.”
The sixth-ranked Croat added “I still don’t feel at 100 percent to compete at the top level and to defend my title” in Cincinnati.
Cilic said he hoped to return very soon and is looking forward to participating in the U.S. Open.
The 28-year-old Cilic has said he suffered the injury at Wimbledon where he lost to Roger Federer in straight sets in the final.
Roger Federer continued his longest winning streak in five years by reaching the Rogers Cup final. This was ended by Alexander Zverev is above article.
The second-seeded Federer used a 6-3, 7-6 (5) victory over unseeded Robin Haase of the Netherlands on Saturday to reach his sixth final of the year and win his 16th consecutive match.
He had considering skipping the event, which would have been disastrous for the promoters with world No. 1 Andy Murray as well as Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka already out with injuries. But Federer decided to play and now has a chance to add to a tally that includes Australian Open and Wimbledon titles this year.
“I’m very happy that I’ve made it here,” he said. “It was a good decision for me. If I would have known I would have gone to the finals, I would have said ‘yes’ right away. Sometimes you’ve just got to wait and see how you feel. I’m most happy that I’m actually really healthy going into the finals. I haven’t wasted too much energy. I’ve been able to keep points short. I’ve been really clean at net. I think my concentration and just my playing has gone up a notch. I’m just playing better.”
Federer is looking for a third Rogers Cup title, but his first in Montreal, having won in 2004 and 2006 in Toronto. A victory would give Federer, currently ranked third in the world, one of the top two seeds at the U.S. Open beginning Aug. 28 in New York.
The 36-year-old Federer has his longest winning streak since 2012. Next up is 20-year-old Alexander Zverev, who stopped Denis Shapovalov’s impressive run with a 6-4, 7-5 victory in the second semifinal.
Federer has won of their three meetings, including a victory over the German on grass in June.
Shapovalov’s tournament included consecutive wins over 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro and top-seeded Spanish star Rafael Nadal. The victories, and the shaggy-haired youngster’s style and skill on the court, announced his presence not only to Canadian fans but to the tennis world.
“My whole life has changed in the past five days,” he said. “It’s crazy how it is.
“I mean, I go from being not known to being so known in the tennis world, in Canada in general. It’s going to be a little bit of a change to me. I’m going to have to adapt. But that doesn’t change things. I still have to work really hard every day.”
Flag-waving fans in the packed grandstands at Uniprix Stadium were hoping for more magic, but Zverev was too strong, winning 81 percent of the points off his serve compared to 64 percent for Shapovalov.
Haase, who upset seventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov in the third round, was in his first career semifinal of a Masters Series tournament.
“I hope it gives me a lot of confidence,” Haase said of his performance for the week. “Next week (in Cincinnati), different conditions, different courts, so it’s tournament by tournament. But, in general, to make an achievement like this is good because it shows you can do it.”
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