Alexander Zverev defeated Nicolas Jarry in the Rome Masters final
Alexander Zverev claimed his sixth Masters 1000 title in Rome, the first in almost three years! Seven years after doing that for the first time, Alexander conquered Foro Italico following a 6-4, 7-5 victory over the first-time Masters 1000 finalist Nicolas Jarry.
Thus, the German celebrated his first notable title after that nasty ankle injury in 2022, adding 1000 ATP points to his tally and replacing Daniil Medvedev in the top-4. Jarry knows how to challenge Zverev, but that was not the case in this encounter, despite a decent effort from the Chilean.
Alexander landed in 80% of the first serve and dominated his games, dropping five points and keeping the pressure on the other side! Nicolas failed to reach at least one tie break, struggling behind the second serve and getting broken two times from nine chances offered to his opponent.
Zverev tamed his strokes nicely, hitting 15 winners and only eight unforced errors.
Jarry sprayed almost 30 unforced errors, hitting fewer service winners and losing the edge from the baseline.
The German had the upper hand in the shortest and more advanced rallies, controlling the pace and sealing the deal with a late break in the second set. Alexander held at love in the first game of the encounter with a service winner, and Nicolas mirrored that in game two for 1-1.
The former champion secured another perfect game with a forehand winner, moving 2-1 in front and gathering a boost. Jarry struggled a bit in the fourth game, overcoming a 30-0 deficit and closing it after a couple of deuces for 2-2.
Another unreturned serve pushed Zverev 3-2 in front, and Jarry grabbed the next one at love with a powerful serve, staying in touch after 21 minutes.
Alexander Zverev clinched his sixth Masters 1000 title in Rome.
The German closed the seventh game at love and made a push on the return in the next one.
The Chilean sprayed a couple of errors, facing two break points after a loose drop shot. Nicolas denied them and held after a service winner, leveling the score at 4-4 and remaining on the positive side. Alexander left those chances behind and produced another fine hold in the ninth game with a powerful serve.
Jarry served to stay in the set at 4-5 and struggled again. The Chilean missed a forehand on a set point, propelling the German 6-4 in front after 41 minutes. The second set kicked off with three fine holds before Jarry experienced issues at 1-2.
The lower-ranked player faced two break points, denying them and holding for 2-2. Alexander stayed composed in his games, holding at love in games five and seven and keeping the pressure on the other side.
Nicolas clinched the eighth game with a powerful serve, maintaining on the positive side before facing the ultimate challenge at 4-5.
The Chilean hit a costly double fault, facing two match points. Jarry denied them and held, locking the result at 5-5 and extending the battle. Zverev secured another comfortable hold in game 11, preparing another push on the return at 6-5.
Nicolas placed a routine forehand wide, facing the third match point and erasing it with a forced error. Jarry netted a forehand and offered Zverev the fourth match point. The German seized it after causing the rival’s mistake, celebrating his first notable title in almost three years and gaining a boost ahead of Roland Garros.
