World No. 6 Alexander Zverev won his fourth Masters 1000 trophy, his first since 2018, already in Madrid, overthrowing Italian Matteo Berrettini (No. 10) in three sets, three weeks from Roland Garros (30 May-June 13). In the previous rounds, Zverev had eliminated Rafael Nadal (N.2) in the quarter-finals, then Dominic Thiem (N.4) in the semi-finals. This is his second title of the season after Acapulco (Mexico) in March, the fifteenth of his career overall. The 24-year-old German's previous Masters 1000 victories dated back to 2017, in Rome and Canada, and 2018, in the Spanish capital. Berrettini, who remained on a success in Belgrade two weeks ago, also on ocher, played his first Masters 1000 final, at 25 years old. By overcoming the Italian,Zverev went on to win a third consecutive victory against a top 10 player, who had previously had a shy start to the season on clay, with eliminations in the round of 16 in Monte-Carlo and in the quarter-finals in Munich (Germany). But the tall German (1.98 m) had to fight for 2 hours 40 minutes to emerge victorious in this final.
50 unforced errors for Berrettini
At the end of an extremely contested first set, where Berrettini was the first to break (4-3) but Zverev immediately reunited (4-4), the two players were decided in the decisive game under the closed roof of the "Caja Magica" . If the Italian, then formidable with his forehand (22 winning shots out of his 32 in total) and more inclined to go up to the net, quickly escaped 5 points to 0, his sudden passivity allowed the German to come back to 5-5. The world No. 10 however managed to turn in the lead, on his fourth set point, after 70 minutes of the match, taking advantage of a double fault from his opponent, who had also given himself an opportunity to pocket this round two points earlier. With three shutouts serving to start the second set, a first Masters 1000 title seemed within reach of Berrettini.But Zverev held on, became progressively more threatening, when the Italian started making more mistakes. It is also on a double fault, his only one of the match, that he gave up a decisive break in 4 games everywhere. In the decisive round, Berrettini ended up paying his too many unforced errors - fifty in total, against 28 for the German. After two breaks, a first to lead 3-2, thanks to a big forehand error from the Italian, and a last to conclude the game, Zverev won on a final backhand fault from his opponent.In the decisive round, Berrettini ended up paying his too many unforced errors - fifty in total, against 28 for the German. After two breaks, a first to lead 3-2, thanks to a big forehand error from the Italian, and a last to conclude the game, Zverev won on a final backhand fault from his opponent.In the decisive round, Berrettini ended up paying his too many unforced errors - fifty in total, against 28 for the German. After two breaks, a first to lead 3-2, thanks to a big forehand error from the Italian, and a last to conclude the game, Zverev won on a final backhand fault from his opponent.
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