Alexander Zverev joins 'Big 3' with remarkable Madrid Open feat

Alexander Zverev has joined Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic as the only male players to win the Madrid Open more than once.

The German underlined his credentials as a serious French Open contender with a 6-7 (8-10) 6-4 6-3 victory over Matteo Berrettini to claim his second Madrid Open title on Sunday.

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Zverev, who conquered clay-court specialists Nadal and Dominic Thiem en route to the final, dropped his first set of the tournament in Sunday's final.

But he managed to fight back under the closed roof at the Manolo Santana stadium to lift his first clay-court title since 2019.

"I feel awesome," Zverev said in a court-side interview.

"It's great. This is definitely a special win. I just want to enjoy it.

"I didn't play too many guys who can serve like him, so it was a difficult match."

Zverev is now just the fourth man in history to win multiple Madrid Open titles, joining Federer (2009 and 2012), Nadal (2010, 2013, 2014 and 2017) and Djokovic (2011, 2016 and 2019).

Berrettini showed no sign of nerves in his maiden ATP 1000 final and landed the first blow, taking a see-sawing opening set in a tiebreak.

But Zverev, who was champion in Madrid in 2018, hit back strongly in the second set, breaking the 25-year-old Italian in the ninth game to force a decider.

With unforced errors creeping into Berrettini's game, the Italian squandered a break point at 2-2 and then proceeded to drop his own serve as Zverev inched closer to victory.

The fifth-seeded German did not let up and another break confirmed the win in two hours and 40 minutes.

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Zverev was full of praise for his Italian opponent.

"Matteo was an extremely difficult opponent, because I had not faced anyone who serves at 235 km/h, who dominates the ball like him," Zverev said.

"Against Rafa (Nadal) and Dominic (Thiem), the matches were different, although they are obviously excellent clay players, perhaps the two best at the moment.

"Against Matteo, it was extremely difficult to just put the ball back in the court."

Zverev will shift his focus to Rome next week before continuing his pursuit of a maiden grand slam title at Roland Garros, where he has never been beyond the quarter-finals.

He captured his first Masters in Rome in 2017 before also winning in Montreal later that year.

"Rome is also an event I like and enjoy, so I hope I can perform in the same way as I did here and we will see how it goes there. I feel awesome," said Zverev.

"To play well at Roland Garros, you have to play well during the season on clay. In that sense, it's (Sunday's win) important to me."

with agencies

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