Three weeks after winning the Olympic Games gold medal in Tokyo-2020, Alexander Zverev kept his momentum on the professional circuit and sealed his place in the final of the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, USA. Despite battling physical problems in the final stages of the game, the world number 5 German secured his 10th consecutive win by beating third-ranked Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in the ATP rankings this Saturday from 2 sets 1-6/4. With fractions 3/6 and 7/6 (7/4).
In his professional career, Zverev has already won 16 ATP titles, including four in the Masters 1000. The first two were still in Rome and Montreal in 2017. In addition, he won twice on clay in Madrid in 2018 and this year as well. He will dispute his 26th career final and is looking for a fourth title of the season. In addition to achievements in Tokyo and Madrid, he also won the ATP 500 in Acapulco, Mexico.
Zverev’s rival in Sunday’s final will be Andrey Rublev of Russia, who is ranked seventh in the world. The German has a major advantage in the history of matches, having won all four previous duels against his next opponent. Furthermore, he didn’t even lose sets when he faced Russian tennis players on the professional circuit. Rublev has eight titles but no Masters 1000.
For the first time in five Elite bouts, Rublev defeated compatriot Daniil Medvedev to cement his place in the Cincinnati Masters 1000 final. The Russian got better than the current runner-up in the return rankings by 2 sets to 1 – partial 2/6, 6/3 and 6/3. By then, Medvedev had won the last four doubles and one more Challenger game at ATP level.
Women – With a very consistent season on the professional circuit, Australian Ashleigh Barty reached her sixth final in 2021. Winner of four tournaments in the year, world No. 1 defeated German Angelique Kerber to guarantee a place in Cincinnati’s WTA 1000 decision, former ranking leader and current 22nd place, 2 sets to 0 – partial 6/2 and 7/5. .
It was Barty’s fourth win in six games against Kerber on the pro circuit, and his second win this season. He also defeated the German in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
With 39 wins in 2021 alone, Barty has already won the WTA 1000 at Wimbledon, Miami, and two WTA 500s in Stuttgart and Melbourne. She was also runner-up on clay in Madrid, where she overtook Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in decision. The 25-year-old Australian has 12 career titles and will be in her 19th final.
His opponent in the decision will be Jill Tekman of Switzerland, who confirmed a great week in Cincinnati. Japanese Naomi Osaka’s Jap, second in the rankings, in the round of 16, and compatriot Belinda Bencic, Olympic champion, quarter-finalist, 24-year-old tennis player and 76th-ranked Czech Karolina Pliskova, were No. 4. world, 6/2 and 6/4 to reach the finals of the competition.
