'Rafael Nadal was the only healthy big name missing Tokyo,' Zverev defends his gold

The Olympic Games tennis tournament in Tokyo is behind us, with no one from the 'Big 3' traveling home with a medal. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer decided to skip Tokyo, while Novak Djokovic traveled to the Olympic village as the gold medal favorite after everything he has achieved this year. Djokovic played on a high level to reach the semi-final, with Alexander Zverev standing as his most dangerous rival following Daniil Medvedev's and Stefanos Tsitsipas' defeats. Novak and Alexander met in the semis, and the Serb opened a 6-1, 3-2 lead, controlling the pace and looking good to sail into the title clash and secure a medal. Out of a sudden, Zverev turned the tables and claimed ten of the final 11 games to grab a 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory and advance into the title clash. In the second semi-final, Karen Khachanov beat Pablo Carreno Busta, and it was a massive chance for Zverev to claim the sixth notable title of his young career.

Alexander Zverev defeated Novak Djokovic and Karen Khachanov to win gold medal.

The German took down the Russian 6-3, 6-1 in an hour and 19 minutes to secure the gold medal as the first German since Steffi Graf in Seoul 1988. Zverev had the upper hand from start to finish and earned his 16th ATP title and one of the most notable ones. Serving well throughout the tournament, Zverev dropped 11 points behind the initial shot against Khachanov and fended off the only break chance offered to his opponent. Alexander secured half of the return points, which gave him four breaks from eight opportunities and a clear edge on the court. Zverev was very emotional after the win, saying it's his biggest title and the one for the German people. Defending the event and his gold medal, Alexander stated that Rafael Nadal was the only healthy player who skipped Tokyo, with many other dangerous players in the draw.

"The best players have come to Tokyo; the only one who is not here is Rafael Nadal, who also skipped Wimbledon. The rest were here; everyone has played. It has been one of the toughest tournaments of the season; some players decided not to come, but they all miss a tournament at some point in the season. All the experts and former players have always thought that these players are better than me. The question is: I have won 16 titles, four Masters 1000 crowns, the ATP Finals and now the Olympic gold. So, they can say what they want, I know what I have achieved," Alexander Zverev said. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3lohtU5