Alexander Zverev continued his winning streak in an impressive manner at the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid. In the final he defeated Dominic Thiem in two sets and secured an impressive third ATP title at Masters level.
More than 30 years ago, they stormed the summit of the tennis world together. Ion Tiriac, the craftiest trader in the travelling circus. And Boris Becker, his irresistible protégé. Three Wimbledon triumphs they celebrated together, also the jump to the top of the rankings, then the star and his long indispensable consultant separated.
On Sunday, reunited and in perfect harmony, they sat together in an honorary box of the Madrid Masters tournament, Becker and Tiriac. The Transylvanian is the impresario there; it has made the competition one of the most important venues alongside the Grand Slams.
And Becker, his guest, is the head of the German men’s tennis department, but by the way also something like a secret chief advisor to Alexander Zverev. What the two grandmasters of the industry saw on the Centre Court early that evening was nothing less than another milestone moment in the career of that very Zverev, the 21-year-old burger with an unstoppable urge to rise.
And on the way to achieving ever higher goals. “He’s not at the end of his possibilities, he’s only just starting,” said Becker after Zverev’s 6-4, 6-4 victory over Austrian Dominic Thiem in the final, “but his progress is simply incredible.
Zverev’s growth is indeed impressive. Both in terms of his mentality as a top talent and his playful progress. As well as in black and white, as far as the bare facts and figures are concerned. Madrid was already Zverev’s third Masters-Coup, none beside the Big Four, so Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, has collected more of these elite trophies among the active professionals.
And nobody has been in these Masters finals more than the young German giant, who fought for the title four times, won three times and only lost to John Isner (USA) at the beginning of April in Miami. “He’s the best of all the young players right now. And probably also in the future,” says former Australian Wimbledon winner Pat Cash.
Experts have been raving about Zverev’s potential for a few years, but of course there was always a great deal of uncertainty. The doubt whether this enormous talent would also manage the difficult transfer from junior tennis to adult tennis.
But since spring 2017 Zverev has been setting new exclamation marks against the question marks, the world ranking list never lies, there he is sovereign behind the two old Grands Federer and Nadal in third place, he is the best of these two titans, number 1 after “Fedal”.
Above all, Zverev has developed an amazing resilience in his touring adventures around the world. Just as important as the gripping energy in big and medium finals is his quality of learning from defeats and drawing the right conclusions from many failures. “I used to be unresponsive for a few days after defeats, I was far too negative,” says Zverev, “now I analyse these mistakes quickly and precisely. And stop making the same mistakes.”
Like a standing up man, the 21-year-old came back again and again after disappointments, especially after bitter knockouts at Grand Slam level. Like last summer, after the unnecessary knockout in Wimbledon. That summer 2017 he won his second Masters title in Canada against Federer.
Things could have been different this season for a Zverev who would have taken failure too much to heart in certain moments. He lost the Australian Open too early, then missed the chance to win the Miami Masters. But Zverev came back, again and again.
For the first time in his career, he defended a title at the ATP tournament in Munich. And he won the cup in Madrid immediately afterwards, again without losing a set, even without losing a serve. “That’s crazy. It’s a great feeling to play the way you always want to,” said Zverev, who has now even moved up to second place in the ATP annual standings (since the start of the season).
Zverev’s parforcing ride this spring continues this week in Rome, he is the defending champion, winning his first Masters trophy there last year against Novak Djokovic. But of course we are now looking further ahead to the very hot season, in which two of the four Grand Slam titles will be awarded in quick succession, first in Paris, then in Wimbledon.
Can Zverev improve his major balance sheet there, perhaps even initiate the big turnaround. Previously he was only a supporting actor in the Grand Slams, one who was no longer there when the tournament entered its decisive phase. Zverev says he wanted “too much too fast” on the Grand Slam stages, he had to be patient. “Many people forget that I am only 21 years old. A Grand Slam title is not a matter of course,” says Zverev.
Becker, the old champion, has known his way of thinking since he stormed the Wimbledon throne at the age of 17. But these times are over, it takes longer to get within reach of the top titles, some only manage that on the threshold of their thirties. Or beyond the thirty. “You just have to stay calm,” says Becker, “Sasha will go his way. And win Grand Slams, too. Nobody knows when.”