German Alexander Zverev wins Rome Masters 1000

German Alexander Zverev, 20 years old, won his first Masters 1000 tournament on Sunday by defeating the world number 2, Serbian Novak Djokovic, 6-4 and 6-3.

Zverev, ranked 17th in the world, had already won three titles in the ATP circuit, in St. Petersburg in 2016 and this year in Montpellier and Munich. He had never won any Masters 1000, the second most important category of tournaments below the Grand Slam.

The German young prodigy, expected to be one of the stars in the coming years, became on Saturday the youngest player to reach a Masters 1000 final, a honor that Djokovic held since playing the one in Miami in 2007, at the age of 19.

Djokovic reached the final after having to finish on Saturday his quarterfinal match against Argentine Juan Martin del Potro (6-1, 6-4) and then his semifinal match, where he defeated another young player with great projection, Austrian Dominic Thiem (6-1, 6-0).

But this time, the Serbian, imprecise against an opponent insensitive to the pressure, did not find the formula to confront an Alexander Zverev who definitely presented his candidacy to achieve something great in Roland Garros, the only Grand Slam played on clay court. For now, the German will enter the 'Top 10' of the world rankings on Monday.