Alexander Zverev of Germany, the number two ranked player in the world, and the Olympic champion, continued his fine 2021 men’s tennis season on Sunday. At the 2021 Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria, Zverev defeated Frances Tiafoe of the United States 7-5, 6-4 in the final.
This was Zverev’s 18th career title on the ATP Tour, and fifth win in 2021. In addition to winning the Olympic gold medal where he beat Karen Khachanov of Russia 6-3, 6-1, he also won the Mexican Open, the Madrid Open, and the Cincinnati Masters in 2021.
This was the second time that Zverev faced an American in an ATP Final. At the 2018 Miami Open, Zverev lost to John Isner of Greensboro, North Carolina 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 in his third ATP Masters 1000 series final. He had previously beat Novak Djokovic to of Serbia to win the 2017 Italian Open, 6-4, 6-3, and the 2017 Rogers Cup in Montreal, where he defeated Roger Federer of Switzerland, 6-3, 6-4.
At the 2021 Erste Open, Zverev was the second seed, and was only seeded below Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece. Zverev defeated Filip Krajinovic of Serbia 6-2, 7-5 in the first round, Alex de Minaur of Australia 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in the second round, the sixth seed and 2021 United States Open semifinalist Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the quarterfinals, and Carlos Alcaraz of Spain 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals.
If there is one weakness in Zverev’s game right now it could be with his mindset. At times, his mind seems to wander during matches and is not mentally focused. When he does make a key unforced error, there is a good chance Zverev will make a string of mistakes before he regains focus. We saw the inconsistent mindset in his wins over de Minaur and Auger-Aliassime.
Zverev meanwhile has been recently investigated for incidents of abusing his ex-girlfriend in Switzerland, New York and Japan according to Ben Rothenberg of slate.com and Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press. The incidents have caused controversy and may have impacted Zverev mentally.
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