MASON, OHIO – AUGUST 22: Alexander Zverev of Germany poses with the winner’s trophy after defeating Andrey Rublev of Russia during the final of the Western & Southern Open at Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 22, 2021 in Mason, Ohio. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by MATTHEW STOCKMAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Alexander Zverev backed up his Olympic triumph with a fifth ATP Masters 1000 title as he crushed Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-3 in Cincinnati on Sunday.
The German needed less than an hour against his longtime childhood friend and rival to lift the trophy and put himself into a solid position with the US Open starting a week from Monday.
“The US Open starts in a week’s time, so obviously I want to keep it up and I want to maybe play even better there,” Zverev said.
Zverev showed no effects from the stomach discomfort which forced him to take a medical timeout during his draining semi-final victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday.
Zverev won his 11th match in a row and his fifth against Rublev, a player he’s been playing since their junior days.
The German came into the week with six defeats in prior Cincinnati appearances, but turned that negative on its head.
“My first win here was on Wednesday and now I’m holding the title four days later,” he said.
“It’s been an incredible week, I had a lot of great matches. It’s a great feeling going into the Open.”
Zverev kept his unforced error count to just six, though he was out-aced by Rublev 11 to six.
The third seed produced 16 winners and broke Rublev five times.
Zverev’s only minor hiccup came as he was broken while serving for victory leading 5-2 in the second set.
But he closed out the convincing win a game later with a timely break back as Rublev found the net with a return.
“Until the end I was playing pretty good tennis,” Zverev said. “I didn’t do a big celebration at the net since Andrey and I have been best friends since we were 11 or 12.
“With my Olympic gold and this fifth Masters I’m really looking forward to New York.”