Defeating Nicolas Jarry 6-4, 7-5 to win his second Rome Open, Alexander Zverev secured his greatest victory since his horrific injury at the French Open two years prior.
The fifth-ranked Zverev, who won the Foro Italico championship in 2017, easily won his sixth Masters 1000 title in the final big event before Roland Garros, which begins the following weekend.
The 27-year-old tied Boris Becker’s record for the most wins by a German since the series started in
Zverev won his first trophy at this level of his career in the Italian capital seven years ago, and he won his first on Sunday after he recovered from a terrible ankle injury he sustained in the 2022 French Open semifinals.
“Rome is a very special place for me,” said Zverev on court.
“I said at the beginning of the week that if Rome is the place of firsts for me then I’m extremely happy about it. Obviously a very, very special week.
“The focus is on Paris right, that’s for sure, but let me enjoy this one for a day or so and then I’ll focus on Paris.”
In one hour and forty-one minutes, Zverev easily defeated Chile’s Jarry, who was unable to duplicate his heroics over Tommy Paul and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinal and semifinal to reach his first Masters final.
With a performance that demonstrated a glaring class difference, the German lost just five points on his serve to win his first 1000-level title since winning in Cincinnati in August 2021.
Jarry told reporters, “I feel like I want to go to Roland Garros and play better because I know I can play better and do good there.”
“I’m very motivated. That’s how I am right now.”
Zverev won his first championship of the year and his first since triumphing in Chengdu in September. The men’s tournament was an anomaly, with many of the top players either eliminated early or withdrawing before the competition even began.
Journeyman Alejandro Tabilo defeated six-time Rome champion Novak Djokovic in the third round of Zverev’s semi-final match.
Daniil Medvedev, the victor of the previous year, was eliminated in the round of sixteen, and the second-ranked Italian player Jannik Sinner and the third-ranked player Carlos Alcaraz were both sidelined by injuries.
Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini earlier gave the Italian supporters cause for celebration when they won the women’s doubles championship over Coco Gauff and Erin Routliffe.
The unseeded Errani and Paolini upset the defending US Open singles champion Gauff and Routliffe 6-3, 4-6, 10-8, to take the Foro Italico trophy.
Sinner and Matteo Berrettini had been excluded from the opportunity to play for home fans, and the former Wimbledon finalist was deemed too unfit to compete in his hometown.