Alexander Zverev named German athlete of the month
World number 4 Alexander Zverev has been the leader of the pack for the NextGen players for the third season in a row in 2018, winning the Tour leading 58 matches and claiming four titles overall, including his third Masters 1000 crown and the first ATP Finals trophy. The young German managed to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final at Roland Garros, a few weeks after one of the most dominant displays in Masters 1000 history, winning Madrid Masters without losing his serve. Despite some poor results and early round exits, Alexander was there to compete against the best players in the world for the second year in succession, becoming the sixth-youngest player in the Open era with back-to-back year-end top-four finishes and the youngest since Novak Djokovic in 2007-08.
After winning his third title of the year in Washington, Zverev lost the ground a little bit, just like in the same time of 2017, winning just five matches in the next four tournaments and bouncing back with a solid run in Shanghai and Basel when he was beaten in the semi-final round. Following a terrible loss against Karen Khachanov in Paris, Zverev took a much-needed break and he was ready to finish his season in style at the ATP Finals where he made his second appearance. There, Alexander scored an important 7-6 7-6 win over Marin Cilic that gave him the room before the remaining two clashes against untouchable Novak Djokovic and John Isner. The youngster stood no chance against the Serb but he took down Isner 7-6 6-3 to secure the place in the semi-final, setting the blockbuster clash versus Roger Federer.
After all kind of drama, Alexander prevailed 7-5 7-6 to secure the place in the final and the second match of the week against Djokovic. Zverev won just five games in their round robin stage but he was now ready for a more serious challenge and he toppled world number 1 6-4 6-3 to lift the biggest title of his career and become the youngest champion of this event since Djokovic 10 years ago. These 1300 points were more than enough for Zverev to finish inside the top-four for the second year in a row and he has been at the top of tennis world for a few weeks now, taking a well-deserved rest before starting his preparations for 2019 and the very last Hopman Cup that he will play together with Angelique Kerber. In addition, Alexander has been voted the German athlete of the month November, leaving boxing world champion Ornella Wahner and karate world champion Jonathan Horne behind him.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2QisfNm
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