Alexander Zverev was competing in his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final on Sunday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, but he handled the occasion like it was a familiar feeling. The 16^th seed captured the biggest title of his career with a brilliant display of tennis to defeat second seed Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3.

Zverev was given the winner’s trophy by Rod Laver in the on-court trophy presentation. The 20 year old becomes the youngest winner in Rome since a 19-year-old Rafael Nadal prevailed in 2006 and the youngest Masters 1000 winner since a 19-year-old Djokovic won Miami in 2007.

He is also the first player born in the 1990s to win a Masters 1000 title. Zverev also created a moment for German tennis history by becoming the first German to win a Masters 1000 title since Tommy Haas (Stuttgart-indoor) in 2001 and only the fourth overall, joining Boris Becker and Michael Stich in the rarified air.

The milestone title will push the #NextGenATP star inside the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time when the new standings are released on Monday, He will move up to No. 10, up from his previous career-high of No. 17. He also extends his lead in the Emirates ATP Race to Milan, which determines who will qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan from 7-11 November. Zverev has accumulated 2,130 race points, more than triple that of all his peers in contention.

Djokovic, appearing in his fourth consecutive Rome final, drops to 4-4 on the final Sunday at this event and 31-13 in Masters 1000 finals. He was seeking his first Masters 1000 title since last July at the Rogers Cup (d. Nishikori) and first ATP World Tour title since his opening event of the season in Doha (d. Murray).

Zverev picks up 1,000 Emirates ATP Rankings points and a hefty cheque for €820,035. Djokovic earns 600 Emirates ATP Rankings points and a cheque for €402,080.

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Showing no fear in their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting, Zverev struck an aggressive forehand return to break Djokovic in the opening game of the match. The most impressive aspect of Zverev’s game in the match was his serve. Landing 71 per cent of his first serves in the match, he dropped only nine points (36/45) and didn’t allow Djokovic any break point chances. The young German remained composed while serving out the set at 5-4, firing two aces en route to taking the early advantage.

Djokovic’s backhand, which set up numerous free points in his semi-final win over Dominic Thiem, continued to be neutralised by Zverev in the second set. The Serbian hit only two winners off that wing in the match.

A forehand error from Djokovic gave Zverev an early break to lead 2-1 in the second set. Zverev continued to rain down heavy serves and hold comfortably, putting pressure on Djokovic to produce something extra from the baseline.

The second seed hit a double fault to set up match point and the German raised his arms in triumph after Djokovic sent a backhand long to end the match in one hour and 21 minutes. Djokovic finished the day with 11 winners and 27 unforced errors, while Zverev hit 16 winners and 14 unforced errors. 

For 120 years, sport has been a staple component of life in Bordeaux, France, at the Villa Primrose Club. Several disciplines from fencing, handball, to golf and hockey have kept this community vibrant and active.

However, it is tennis that is the true sporting passion at the historic institution, which hosts the BNP Paribas Primrose, a prestigious clay-court event on the ATP Challenger Tour. “The club was created in 1897 by families linked to the wine trade, harbour business and the banking world,” said tournament director Jean-Baptiste Perlant. “The founders, avid tennis fans, engrained an entrepreneurial spirit, we can say competition is in the club’s genetic make up.”

A decade after its opening, the first Primrosiens Cup in 1907 enabled players from other clubs to participate, as the finest French competitors soon knew where to fine tune their game.

“Home grown players such as Jean Samazeuilh (1921) and Francois Blanchy (1923) progressed to the elite level to become French Open champions,” added Perlant. “During the 1920s the club consolidated itself as a regional leader and one of the top French clubs.”

The trio of Jauffret brothers; Jean-Paul, Pierre and Francois, kept the Villa Primrose prominent after the Second World War, before the club built up a strong connection with the ATP Grand Prix (today known as the ATP World Tour), hosting a tournament from 1979-1989. A host of renowned players such as Yannick Noah (1979), Ivan Lendl (1989) and Guy Forget (1990,1991) etched their names onto the champions’ board, while names such as Mats Wilander , Sergi Bruguera and Goran Ivanisevic have all slid into action on the Primrose red dirt.

An ATP Challenger Tour event was introduced at the club in 2008, with fans catching a glimpse of national favourites Richard Gasquet (2010), Gael Monfils (2013) and Julien Benneteau (2014) gracing the courts as champions. Celebrating its 10th edition this week, the €106,000 event has become a favourite among players and fans and is highly regarded as one of the elite events on the ATP Challenger Tour. It most recently witnessed #NextGenATP star Thanasi Kokkinakis’ maiden Challenger crown in 2015.

“The tournament is always really appreciated by the players due to the fact that it takes place just before the French Open and is played in near identical conditions, with the same red clay, the same match ball,” said Perlant. “The prize money has increased to $125,000 and the gamble has paid off, with many faces coming from abroad, bright new hopes and future stars are all present.”

The members of Villa Primrose are extremely proud of their historic club, and rightly so, with the Challenger event enabling the legacy to keep on growing in the flowing landscape of the famed wine-growing region. “The tournament continues to evolve and is embedded in the Bordeaux landscape,” stated Perlant. “Modernity, with respect for tradition, Primrose remains Primrose!”

View FedEx ATP Head2Head for the final at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia & vote for who you think will win!
Djokovic v Zverev

No. 16 seed Alexander Zverev and No. 2 Novak Djokovic meet for the first time in Sunday’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia championship. The 20-year-old Zverev, who leads the Emirates ATP Race to Milan for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals, is appearing in his first ATP Masters 1000 championship. Djokovic, who celebrates his 30^th birthday on Monday, is attempting to capture his fifth title in Rome and record 31^st ATP Masters 1000 title.

This is the 13^th consecutive year (since 2005) Djokovic and/or Nadal have reached the Rome final. Djokovic is appearing in his eighth title match (4-3), the first without having lost a set. He and Nadal have combined to win 11 of the past 12 titles. Nadal has won a record seven titles.

Zverev is the youngest (20) Rome finalist since 2006 when Nadal (19) won the title. He is also the youngest ATP Masters 1000 finalist since Djokovic (19), who won 2007 Miami. Zverev is the first German to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final since Nicolas Kiefer in 2008 Toronto (l. to Nadal) and the first German to reach the Rome final since Tommy Haas in 2002 (l. to Agassi). Haas is the last German to win an ATP Masters 1000 title at 2001 Stuttgart-indoor. If Zverev captures his fourth career ATP World Tour title, the third in 2017, he will become the first player born in the 1990s to earn an ATP Masters 1000 title. He will also move from No. 17 to No. 10 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. If Zverev loses, he will rank a career-high No. 14.

Djokovic is appearing in his fourth straight Rome championship. He won titles in 2008, 2011, 2014-15 and was runner-up in 2009, 2012 and 2016. Djokovic is tied with Nadal for the most ATP Masters 1000 titles and is 30-12 in finals. He is 67-29 overall in finals and his last final/title came in Doha in the opening week of 2017 (d. Murray).  He is trying to win a Masters 1000 title for the seventh straight year and 10^th time in 11 years (except 2010). He has won at least one clay Masters 1000 title the past four years. A member of the Big Four has won 24 of the last 25 ATP Masters 1000 titles since 2015 Cincinnati with the only exception Marin Cilic last year in Cincinnati.

INFOSYS ATP SCORES & STATS

NOTE: Bold indicates tournament leader

Second seed Novak Djokovic put in a flawless performance on Saturday night for his second win of the day at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, ruthlessly dispatching eighth seed Dominic Thiem 6-1, 6-0 to reach the final in just 59 minutes.

The Serbian finished off a rain-delayed quarter-final earlier in the day over Juan Martin del Potro. Djokovic is through to his first ATP World Tour final since winning his opening tournament of the season in Doha (d. Murray). He remains unbeaten in Rome semi-finals (8-0) and improves to 41-6 at this event as he moves within one match of his fifth Rome title.

“This is undoubtedly my best performance of this year and maybe even longer. I’m overjoyed and happy with every minute that I spent on the court today. It was a perfect match. Everything that I intended to do, I have done it and even more,” said Djokovic. “There’s not much to say except that I am so grateful to experience something like this, because I have been waiting and working for it for a long time.”

Awaiting Djokovic in the final is 16th seed and #NextGenATP German Alexander Zverev, who defeated John Isner. Djokovic will look to win his 31^st ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title, while Zverev is competing in his first Masters 1000 final. The Rome final marks their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting.

“He’s a nice guy and someone that I like. I have seen him grow up. I know his older brother. It’s amazing to see 10, 12 years ago, when he was only a boy going around with his racquet, and now we are going to play in the final of one of the biggest events in the world,” said Djokovic. “It’s a great beginning of his professional career he has had so far and he deserves to be in the final, but I’m going to make sure he doesn’t get his hands on that trophy tomorrow. I’ll at least try.”

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Djokovic finished the day with 14 winners to a tidy six unforced errors. In stark contrast, the normally consistent Thiem hit 17 unforced errors to eight winners. The serve stats are perhaps the most telling, with Thiem winning just 13 of 37 points on serve. Djokovic won nearly 75 per cent of his serve points (31/43).

Despite the loss, Thiem has plenty of positives to take from his clay-court season so far. The 23-year-old Austrian produced a brilliant performance on Friday to defeat Rafael Nadal and end the Spaniard’s unbeaten streak on clay this season at 17 matches.Thiem has continued to make it to the weekend at clay-court events in 2017, winning in Rio de Janeiro (d. Carreno Busta) and finishing runner-up at Barcelona and Madrid (both l. Nadal) before his semi-final finish this week.

“It was the first time for me to play at such a high level for three weeks or more, and today I paid the price for that a little bit,” said Thiem. “I was already a little bit tired in the end of the match against Sam Querrey. I surprised myself by how I went out yesterday, but also knew it’s not going to be like that forever.”

Djokovic started the opening set with a break of serve and a primal yell for a 2-0 lead. The backhands that Thiem painted the lines with against Nadal found themselves consistently landing just wide. The Austrian was unable to get any traction on his forehand, failing to hit a single winner on that wing in the set as Djokovic continued to move him from side to side. Thiem avoided a bagel by holding at 0-5, but Djokovic comfortably grabbed the early lead in the next game.

The second set was nearly identical to the first set as Djokovic continued to bully Thiem in the baseline rallies. The crowd urged Thiem on with applause and by chanting his name, but the Serbian gave them little chance to get involved. Djokovic broke Thiem for the third consecutive time to lead 5-0 and a strong serve on his first match point swiftly wrapped up the contest.

“It’s really tough for me to play against Novak because he doesn’t give me any time. I don’t really like to play against him, because he has a game style which doesn’t fit me at all,” said Thiem. “He was there from the first point and was pushing himself. I was expecting that from him, but couldn’t really do anything against it because I was empty.

“I was not mentally on the level I should be against these opponents,” he added. “It happens from time to time if you play a lot of matches. And if it happens against a guy like Novak, a score like 6-1, 6-0 is the logical outcome.”