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Zverev Beats Rublev for Cincinnati Masters Title and Immediately Puts Focus on U.S. Open
- Updated: August 23, 2021
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By Ricky Dimon
Alexander Zverev is without question one of the three hottest players on
tour–and quite simply one of the three best–going into the U.S. Open.
He is on an 11-match winning streak that includes a gold medal at the Tokyo
Olympics and the Western & Southern Open title. Sunday’s triumph in
Cincinnati marked his fourth at the Masters 1000 level. Now Zverev heads to New
York in search of a first Grand Slam winner’s trophy and–along with Daniil
Medvedev–is expected to be a top challenger to Novak Djokovic.
“The U.S. Open is a week that everybody is looking forward to,” the
fourth-ranked German said after beating Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-3 in the
Cincinnati final. “I think Novak will be back. He’s obviously going to be
the favorite, as well. But I think other guys are going to be in great shape….
I still have a lot of work ahead of me. I have to find my rhythm in New York,
as well.
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“I do think (Djokovic is) going to be playing incredible tennis there. He’s
going to be fresh, and I think there is also other guys that are in very good
form. I think Rublev is in very good form, Medvedev, (Stefanos) Tsitsipas….
All those guys are playing great tennis. It’s definitely going to be an
interesting U.S. Open. I’m also looking forward to it because I know where I
stand, I know how I’m playing, and I hope I can continue the work and hopefully
play even better in New York.”
A better result than last year’s in Flushing Meadows would mean a title. Zverev
fell one step short–and a mere two points short, in fact–when he lost to
Dominic Thiem 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(6) in the 2020 championship match.
“Last year before the U.S. Open I didn’t expect (anything) from myself, to
be honest,” the 24-year-old added. “Because first of all, we didn’t
play any tournaments for six months, and second I had a pretty average
Cincinnati tournament in New York. I was still finding my game during the U.S.
Open last year, but it worked well for me; I was pretty close to winning it.
“But I’m looking forward to what’s in it for me this year, and we’ll
see how it is once I arrive there.”
Last summer at Flushing Meadows marked Zverev’s first-ever major final
appearance. He benefited from Novak Djokovic’s exit from the top half of the
draw due to a fourth-round default. Now Zverev will be among those trying to
prevent Djokovic from winning the calendar-year Grand Slam.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.