Geneva 2017
Geneva 2017
May212017
German shows his biggest weapon may not be his flashiest
Alexander Zverev’s serve and forehand steal the limelight, but don’t be fooled: It’s his backhand that carries more of the workload, and is relied upon the most to elevate him up the Emirates ATP Rankings.
Twenty-year-old Zverev defeated Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 in the final of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Sunday, shaking up the pecking order in the tennis world and surging into the Top 10 along the way.
Zverev’s serve was impressive in the final. He hit seven aces, winning 84 per cent (27/32) of first serve points and 69 per cent (9/13) of second serve points. He didn’t face a single break point for the match. The German’s forehand was also strong with five winners, including a 161kmh (100mph) inside-out winner with Djokovic serving at 2-4, 15/0, in the first set. It was a scorcher and a clear show of strength from the back of the court.
And then there was his backhand. For most players, this specific shot is typically a defensive weapon (like Rafael Nadal’s), or a consistent stroke that rarely misses (like Andy Murray).
Consider Zverev’s backhand numbers from the final:
Backhand Winners
• Zverev 3
• Djokovic 1
Backhand Errors
• Zverev 7
• Djokovic 21
Zverev’s backhand was basically three times as good as Djokovic’s when you compare winners and errors. Zverev’s backhand is stunningly simple, loading the racquet head above the wrists early in the backswing, and then rotating quickly into contact with a clean, circular motion that generates extreme power.
In the head-to-head backhand battle, Zverev’s backhand owned the day over Djokovic’s on Campo Centrale. An analysis of what shot forced Djokovic’s 21 backhand errors gives further weight to the dominance of Zverev on this side.
Djokovic’s 21 Backhand Errors
• 14 came from a Zverev backhand
• 7 came from a Zverev forehand
Zverev’s backhand is so good that, certainly from an analytical standpoint, it could easily be mistaken for another forehand in disguise. Leading into the Rome final, Zverev averaged hitting his topspin forehand at 125 kmh (78mph). His backhand was almost identical, at 123 kmh (76mph). Normally there is around a 13kmh (8mph) difference in forehand and backhand speed among the Top 10 players, but not so with Zverev.
Djokovic said post-match that he wasn’t able to get any rhythm on his returns, which was certainly seen in Zverev’s return speeds coming in much faster than his opponent’s.
Average Return Speeds
1st Serve Return Speed
• Zverev 121kmh (75mph)
• Djokovic 95kmh (59mph)
2nd Serve Return Speed
• Zverev 133kmh (83mph)
• Djokovic 112kmh (70mph)
The power, depth and direction of Zverev’s returns and groundstrokes constantly had Djokovic on defense in the rally. Zverev has been widely discussed as a star of the future, but the future, evidently, is today.
10 THINGS TO WATCH IN GENEVA
1) ATP Back in Geneva: The Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open returns for the third straight year with 2016 champion Stan Wawrinka and fellow Top 10 player Kei Nishikori leading the field. Switzerland hosts three ATP events, with Gstaad (July 24-30) and Basel (October 23-29) to follow.
2) Top 4 Seeds: Receiving first-round byes are World No. 3 Wawrinka, World No. 9 Nishikori, Monte-Carlo finalist Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Rome semi-finalist John Isner. Nishikori accepted a wild card into Geneva after falling to Juan Martin del Potro in the Rome third round on Thursday.
3) Stan the Man: Wawrinka is the No. 1 Swiss, No. 1 seed and reigning champion. The 32-year-old enters the week before Roland Garros without a title for the first time since 2012. Wawrinka is 16-8 in 2017 (2-3 on clay) and his best finish is a final at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells (l. to Federer). He defeated Marin Cilic 64 76(11) in last year’s Geneva final for his first ATP title in Switzerland.
4) Ramos-Vinolas on the Rise: Ramos-Vinolas, the No. 2 seed, has 18 clay-court wins in 2017, one shy of the 19 he posted in 2016. The Spaniard peaked at No. 17 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on May 8, having reached the quarter-finals or better at eight tournaments this season (seven on clay). He was runner-up at the Masters 1000 event in Monte-Carlo (l. to Nadal) and also in Sao Paulo (l. to Cuevas).
5) Bellucci Already Out: Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, the 2015 Geneva champion, was eliminated on Sunday by Andrey Kuznetsov. Three of Bellucci’s four ATP World Tour singles titles had come on Swiss clay: 2009 Gstaad (d. A. Beck), 2012 Gstaad (d. Tipsarevic) and 2015 Geneva (d. Sousa).
6) Johnson Returns: No. 5 seed Steve Johnson returns to the ATP World Tour for the first time since capturing his second career ATP World Tour title at Houston on April 16 (d. Bellucci). His father, Steve Johnson Sr., passed away unexpectedly on May 11 at the family’s home in California.
7) Tipsarevic Turnaround: Wild card and former World No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic is playing in his first ATP World Tour event since clay-court tournaments at Quito, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro in February. The 32-year-old Serbian has jumped from No. 145 to No. 61 in the Emirates ATP Rankings this season by posting a 20-0 record with four titles on the ATP Challenger Tour (2 clay, 2 hard).
8) American Quartet: Four Americans are seeded: No. 4 Isner, No. 5 Johnson, No. 6 Sam Querrey and No. 9 Ryan Harrison. Johnson (Houston), Querrey (Acapulco) and Harrison (Memphis) have won titles in 2017. Americans are 4-0 in finals this season, not including Jack Sock’s win via walkover in the Delray Beach championship match. Sock also won the Auckland title (d. Sousa).
9) #NextGenATP Watch: Two Next Gen ATP Finals contenders are in the field: Jared Donaldson, 20, and Daniel Altmaier, 18, who qualified and makes his ATP main draw debut against Querrey.
10) Doubles Field: As is the case in singles, the doubles draw features the 2015 and 2016 Geneva champions. Defending champions Johnson and Querrey are teaming for the first time this season. Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, the 2015 champions, are the No. 2 seeds.
10 THINGS TO WATCH IN LYON
1) Lyon Returns to ATP World Tour: The Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon replaces the Open de Nice Cote d’Azur this week as an ATP World Tour 250 clay-court tournament. Lyon previously hosted an ATP event on indoor carpet from 1987 to 2008 and on indoor hard courts in 2009. That event moved to Montpellier in 2010 and is now known as the Open Sud de France.
2) Strong Field: Four Top 20 players will receive first-round byes: World No. 6 Milos Raonic, No. 1 Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, wild card Tomas Berdych and 22-year-old Nick Kyrgios.
3) Raonic Top Seed: Raonic is playing for the fourth straight week since returning from a right leg injury. He is 6-3 on clay this month, highlighted by his first final on the surface at Istanbul (l. to Cilic).
4) Tsonga on Home Soil: The second-seeded Tsonga is 18-5 with two titles this season, but just 1-1 on clay. He conceded a walkover in the Madrid second round, then withdrew from Rome, due to a right shoulder injury. Tsonga has won seven of his 14 ATP World Tour singles titles in France.
5) Kyrgios Back in Action: Like Tsonga, the fourth-seeded Kyrgios is 18-5 in 2017 and returns to action after withdrawing from Rome (hip). Kyrgios reached the Mutua Madrid Open third round in his only other clay-court appearance of the season (l. to eventual champion Nadal).
6) #NextGenATP Watch: Four of the Top 10 players in the Emirates ATP Race to Milan are in Lyon this week, including Chennai finalist Daniil Medvedev, Munich semi-finalist Hyeon Chung and Barcelona quarter-finalist Karen Khachanov. Borna Coric, who is No. 2 in the race, was eliminated on Sunday by Nikoloz Basilashvili. Rome champion Alexander Zverev leads the race.
7) Kokkinakis Returns: Thanasi Kokkinakis, a #NextGenATP player when the campaign debuted at 2016 Indian Wells, returns to the ATP World Tour this week. Kokkinakis peaked at No. 69 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, but right shoulder surgery and an abdominal strain have limited him to three tournaments at any level since October 2015: 2016 Rio Olympics (singles 1R), 2017 Brisbane (doubles champion w/Thompson) and 2017 Bordeaux, France Challenger (doubles QF w/Bolt).
8) French Title Hopes: Tsonga is one of three Frenchmen left in the field after No. 8 seed Benoit Paire was upset on Sunday. No. 5 seed Gilles Simon and Nicolas Mahut are also playing in Lyon.
9) Wild Cards: Berdych, Simon and Juan Martin del Potro are among the Top 6 seeds after accepting wild cards. Del Potro, the No. 6 seed, is 10-5 this year with all five of his losses coming to players ranked in the Top 6. He could meet the sixth-ranked Raonic in the Lyon quarter-finals.
10) Dodig/Granollers Headline Doubles: Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers, a first-year team, are the No. 1 doubles seeds. The Croat and Spaniard are 14-8 this season with a title at Rotterdam and runner-up finish last week at Rome. Also in the field are Paire and his 32-year-old brother Thomas Paire. The Paires previously played doubles together at two ITF Futures Circuit events in 2009-10.
Re-live nine great hot shots from the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Mutua Madrid Open and Internazionali BNL d’Italia, and help crown the Golden Hot Shot from the 2017 clay-court ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments.
Watch the clips and cast your vote before the poll closes at 6pm CEST/noon EDT on Friday, 26 May. Here are the candidates:
Monte-Carlo
Nadal Lands Winner From Impossible Angle
Simon Stymies Djokovic
Djokovic Slides To Winner
Madrid
Cuevas Hits Sensational No Look Winner
Kyrgios Wows Fans With Doubles Winner
Goffin Strikes Stunning Backhand Hot Shot
Rome
Del Potro Goes Nuclear With This Forehand
Sock Leaps Into Forehand
Thiem Blasts Backhand Hot Shot
Subscribe to our Hot Shot playlist, and watch match replays on TennisTV.
Coric, Paire lose in first round
Nikoloz Basilashvili and Jordan Thompson both scored hard-fought wins over seeded opponents on Sunday in first-round action at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon.
Basiliashvili upset seventh seed and #NextGenATP star Borna Coric 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, while Thompson ousted eighth seed and home favourite Benoit Paire 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 6-4 at the ATP World Tour 250 clay-court tournament.
In remaining qualifying action, Kyle Edmund, Hyeon Chung, Nicolas Kicker and Gastao Elias all secured main draw spots.
1. Zverev Shows The Future Is Now
Alexander Zverev has long been touted as a future star of the ATP World Tour, but the German proved he’s ready to shine now by taking the Internazionali BNL d’Italia title over Novak Djokovic. The 20 year old is the youngest Masters 1000 title winner in a decade and will hit a career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 10 on Monday.
Not only is Zverev almost a guaranteed lock to qualify for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan from 7-11 November, but he moves to fourth in the Emirates ATP Race to London as he looks to make his first ATP Finals appearance. Already showing the composure and maturity of a seasoned veteran, Zverev seems poised to remain at the top of the game for many years to come.
2. Djokovic Continues Steady Return To Form
Djokovic put the whispers about his level of tennis to rest by powering to the Rome final without dropping a set. His quarter-final win over Juan Martin del Potro and semi-final victory against Dominic Thiem showed the dominance that fans have grown accustomed to in recent years, with Djokovic firing winners at will while hitting minimal unforced errors.
With Andre Agassi slated to work with Djokovic during Roland Garros, the nuggets of wisdom that the always astute Agassi imparts will only benefit the Serbian as he looks to defend his title in Paris.
3. Thiem Confirms Top Contender Status
Dominic Thiem accomplished the seemingly impossible task of defeating Rafael Nadal en route to a semi-final finish in Rome, gaining revenge on the Spaniard for losses to him in the Barcelona and Madrid finals. Although Thiem ran out of his steam 24 hours later against Djokovic, he has established himself as one of the top players on this surface.
Thiem’s supreme fitness – Rome is his 13th tournament of 2017 – means that he’ll be fully recovered from his backlog of matches after a brief rest period. It will take an impressive performance from one of the world’s best players to halt him at Roland Garros.
4. Rafa Won’t Coast To Victory At Roland Garros
Plenty of fans had already penciled Nadal in for a 10th title at Roland Garros, but his quarter-final loss to Dominic Thiem at Roland Garros showed he’s not invincible on red clay. The comparatively bad day at the office, which ended his unbeaten 17-match win streak on red dirt this season, was understandable given the volume of matches Nadal has played over the past month. Although he still remains an on-paper favourite to prevail in Paris, his peers in the locker room will take inspiration from knowing he can be defeated with a truly inspired day of tennis.
5. Herbert/Mahut Rekindle Magic
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut ended a 10-month title drought by winning a hard-fought final over Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers. The popular French duo did it the hard way, saving match points in their opening-round and quarter-final victories, and prevailing in a Match Tie-break for the semi-finals and final.
With three different teams winning the clay-court Masters 1000 events this season, it’s anyone’s guess who will prevail at Roland Garros.
German wins first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title over Djokovic
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 16th 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.
World number two Novak Djokovic said Andre Agassi will be his new coach after the Serb lost in the Italian Open final to Alexander Zverev.
The 12-time Grand Slam winner parted company with his entire coaching team earlier in May.
Former world number one Agassi will be with Djokovic in Paris for the French Open, which starts on 28 May.
The news was confirmed after German Zverev, 20, stunned Djokovic 6-4 6-3 to win in Rome.
In the women’s event, Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina triumphed with a 4-6 7-5 6-1 win over Romania’s Simona Halep.
Djokovic had said the “shock therapy” of splitting with his backroom team, including Marian Vajda – who has been with him through almost all of his career – would help achieve better results.
Boris Becker, a six-time Grand Slam winner, left in December after three years as the 29-year-old’s main coach.
Now he has brought in American Agassi, who retired in 2006 after a career which yielded eight Grand Slam titles wins.
“I spoke to Andre the last couple weeks on the phone, and we decided to get together in Paris. So he’s going to be there,” said Djokovic.
“We’ll see what the future brings. We are both excited to work together and see where it takes us.
“We don’t have any long-term commitment. It’s just us trying to get to know each other in Paris a little bit.”
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller
Agassi has no top-level coaching experience, but Djokovic could not have made a more exciting choice. The 47-year-old remains hugely popular; a charismatic, and sometimes enigmatic, true great of the game.
Having benefitted from the counsel of Boris Becker (Djokovic won six Grand Slam titles in their three years together), he is now hoping to build a relationship with Agassi, who like Djokovic, knows how it feels to win each of the Grand Slams.
If there is to be a more permanent arrangement it is likely to revolve almost exclusively around the Grand Slams. Agassi and wife Steffi Graf have two teenage children, he is heavily involved in his charitable foundation and has indicated in the past that he does not want to be away from his Las Vegas home for too long.
At 20 years and one month, Zverev is the youngest Masters event champion since Djokovic himself won the 2007 Miami Open.
Fearless Zverev, currently ranked 17 in the world but now set to move into the top 10, dominated from the start.
He did not face a break point and broke the 12-time major winner in the first game and twice in the second set.
Djokovic received a code violation for an audible obscenity in the seventh game of the second set, and later double-faulted to hand Zverev match point.
A long backhand by the Serb, who will celebrate his 30th birthday on Monday, subsequently ensured victory to his highly-rated opponent.
Djokovic’s semi-final win over Dominic Thiem had hinted he was close to recovering his best form after a poor year, culminating in the departure of his entire coaching staff earlier this month.
But Zverev was composed throughout and won in one hour and 21 minutes.
“It’s such an honour being on the court against one of the best ever players,” said Zverev after his victory.
“If I have half the career Novak has had, I will be just fine.”
Referring to the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year, which begins on 28 May, he added: “I’m sure he will be one of the favourites in Paris.”
Djokovic will need to raise his game having hit 27 unforced errors to his opponent’s 14, but hinted at a big future for the German.
“You are definitely on a great path. You played fantastic and deserve it,” he said.
Svitolina fought back from losing the first set to win her fourth title of the year.
The 22-year-old is currently ranked 11th in the world, but will return to the top 10 when the rankings are updated on Monday.
Halep, 25, who won the Madrid Open last week, rolled her ankle when leading 5-2 in the first set, but managed to take it 6-4.
The world number four had her ankle strapped in the second set, which Svitolina took 7-5.
The third set was a one-sided affair as Svitolina won 6-1 in 30 minutes.
Svitolina, who also called for a trainer in the second set, adds her Rome title to victories in Istanbul, Dubai and Taipei City.