Cologne King: Zverev Powers to 13th Career Title

By Witherspoon

Alexander Zverev sustained his championship scent in Cologne.

The top-seeded Zverev dismissed Diego Schwartzman 6-2, 6-1 collecting his second straight Cologne championship and 13th career title.

A week after Zverev swept Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3 on the same Lanxess Arena court in the Cologne-1 tournament final, the German dominated start to finish against the second-seeded Schwartzman.

Facing one of the game’s most accurate returners, Zverev zapped nine aces without a double fault, served 64 percent and won 24 of 29 first-serve points in an impressive victory that left the 23-year-old German pumped for the future.

“It’s getting better,” Zverev said. “I think we’re going to be on top of the game very soon.”

A month ago, Zverev struggled to control his sporadic second serve when he made history at the US Open as the first man to win a Grand Slam semifinal from two sets down then lose a major final from two sets up bowing to Dominic Thiem in the first Flushing Meadows men’s final decided in a third-set tiebreaker.

Grand Slam disappointment deepened when Zverev fell to 19-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner in the French Open fourth round.

Shaking it off, Zverev has regained his footing on home soil. A day after he rallied from 1-4 down to fight off Sinner 7-6, 6-3, Zverev played his most complete match of the tournament overpowering the Roland Garros semifinalist.

After Schwartzman earned a hard-fought hold to start the second set, Zverev took his game to places the 5’7″ Argentinean could not reach. Zverev streaked through six straight games firing a forehand to close in one hour, 11 minutes.

The 2018 ATP Finals champion has won four of his 13 career titles on home soil. Zverev has won 17 of his last 19 matches and will aim to ride the winning wave at the Rolex Paris Masters next month.