LONDON—The lights started flashing in Paris, but louder alarm bells were ringing here at the vast O2 Arena in London’s Docklands when Novak Djokovic, the world No. 1, fell for the second time in three weeks to a member of the coming generation—the 22-and-under brigade who are going to storm into the world’s Top 10 in the coming months.
In Paris, it was Russia’s strapping Karen Khachanov who upset and out hit Djokovic. Here, in front of another giant crowd, it was Alexander Zverev who grabbed the biggest title of his career, using all-out aggression to subdue the great Serb, 6-4, 6-3.
Heeding the advice of his new coach, Ivan Lendl, who told him to take the ball earlier and be more assertive, the 21-year-old German was unrecognizable from the player who had succumbed to Djokovic 6-4, 6-1 in round-robin play just four days before.
Although, in a lengthy acceptance speech—we will be getting used to those from this articulate linguist—Zverev made a point of saying that it was his father who laid the base and taught him the game of tennis from day one. But Lendl was not hired to decorate the bench with that stony stare. This is a man who played in no less than nine consecutive finals of this tournament when it was played at New York’s Madison Square Garden, winning four titles. As Andy Murray found out, Ivan knows what he is talking about. And like Murray, Zverev listened.
The result on this particular occasion was that Zverev hit 17 winners to his opponent’s three and won nine of his twelve sorties to the net. And, as if to prove how effective his backhand was, he finished the match with a wonderful strike on the run off that flank.
This triumph may act as the bridge between Zverev’s success at ATP Masters 1000 level, where he has already won three titles, and the Grand Slams, where only once has he managed to get as far as the quarterfinals. Every match the German plays now is a stepping stone, both physically (another Murray connection again is Jez Green as his fitness trainer) and mentally—which, on this occasion, was particularly pertinent.