ATP Cologne 2: Alexander Zverev storms over Diego Schwartzman for a double delight

Alexander Zverev was the player to beat in Cologne in the previous two weeks, wrapping up eight wins in 11 days to secure two ATP crowns, improving his tally to 13 ATP trophies at 23. The German's 13th ATP crown came on Sunday, toppling the 2nd seed Diego Schwartzman 6-2, 6-1 in 71 minutes, controlling the pace from start to finish for a perfect fortnight at the home event. Cologne 2 was the first tournament for Schwartzman since he entered the top-10, reaching the final but standing no chance against the better-ranked rival, creating only one break chance and suffering five breaks. Dominating with his serve and groundstrokes, Zverev grabbed over half of the return points, mounting the pressure on the other side of the net and sealing the deal in no time. Schwartzman won their previous encounter at the US Open 2019, standing no chance today as Zverev proved to be too strong in every department.

The Argentine forced an error from the German in the first game for an early hold, followed by Zverev who fired a service winner to level the score at 1-1. Diego brought the third game home at love with an unreturned serve and reached two deuces on the return in the next, not making an extra step and creating break chances as Alexander closed the game with two winners for 2-2. The German grabbed a break at 15 in the fifth game with a perfect drop shot, saved a break point in the next one with a service winner and fired another one from his forehand to open a 4-2 gap. Schwartzman hit a double fault in the seventh game to give serve away, allowing Zverev to wrap up the opener with an ace at 5-2 after 38 minutes. Fighting for every point, Diego fended off a break chance in the first game of the second set, clinching it with a service winner for his only game of the set.

Alexander Zverev claimed two Cologne titles in as many weeks.

Alexander won the second game with a forehand winner, continuing where he left in the first set and hoping for more chances on the return. It came in the third game when Schwartzman netted a backhand, getting broken and sending Zverev closer to the finish line. Another unreturned serve delivered the fourth game for the home favorite, who landed a forehand crosscourt winner in game five to steal the rival's serve and open a 4-1 gap. Alexander painted an ace down the T line to bring the sixth game home, forcing Diego to serve for staying in the match. Seeking the title as soon as possible, Zverev sealed the deal with a monstrous forehand down the line winner, securing the third break in a row and lifting the second trophy in as many weeks. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/37HSoge