Zverev takes Cincinnati title with easy win over Rublev

TIL Desk Sports/ Alexander Zverev completed his dominant week at the Western & Southern Open by cruising past Russia’s Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-3 to lift his fifth ATP Masters 1000 title and become the first German champion in Cincinnati since Boris Becker in 1985.

The world No. 5 had never won a match in six previous appearances at the tournament but produced high-quality tennis all week to back up his Olympic singles gold medal in Tokyo and capture his fourth tour-level trophy of the season.

Zverev, who had on Saturday (August 21) rallied from a double break down in the third set against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals, extended his winning streak to 11 matches. He also stretched his ATP head-to-head against Rublev to 5-0.

The third seed was aggressive throughout against Rublev, firing six aces and winning 93 percent (26/28) of points behind his first delivery to record victory in 59 minutes.Earlier this year, the 24-year-old captured the Mutua Madrid Open crown in May to end a three-year Masters 1000 title drought, while he also won the trophy in Acapulco on hard in March.