Alexander Zverev continued his dominant form on Sunday as he lifted the men’s singles title at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, overcoming American Frances Tiafoe 7-5, 6-4 to clinch his fifth trophy of the year.
Zverev not only won his fifth tournament of the season but his 18th overall. Nearly 8,000 fans saw a quick break and re-break in the first set. At 5-6, Tiafoe served against the set. While saving the first set point at 30-40, the next set-point sealed the deal for Zverev in the first.
Tiafoe gave the fans a great show in the second set, but the big points were gathered by the Olympic Champion, who served no less than 19 aces throughout the final.
At 4-5 Tiafoe was once again faced with winning his serve or losing the set – and the match in this case. And Tiafoe had nothing left in the tank. He lost the game without a point, as Zverev hit a great return on the first match point. After 95 minutes, Zverev’s first triumph in Vienna was reality. The first for a German since Tommy Haas in 2013.
Earlier this season, Zverev triumphed at ATP Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Cincinnati and also won the singles gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Zverev has won all five finals that he has competed in this year. The only other time the World No. 4 won five tour-level crowns in a season was in 2017.