By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, September 25, 2016
Alexander Zverev snapped Stan Wawrinka's 11-match finals winning streak, scoring a 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 win to capture his first career ATP title in St. Petersburg.
Photo credit: St. Petersburg Open
Alexander Zverev returned to his Russian roots blossoming in a championship breakthrough.
Rallying from a 0-3 deficit in the decisive set, the 19-year-old Zverev upset top-seeded Stan Wawrinka, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5, to capture his first ATP title in St. Petersburg.
More: Pouille Wins First Title In Metz
Zverev, whose parents Alexander and Irena are both Russian, played with poise down the stretch snapping Wawrinka's 11-match finals winning streak.
"I'm really overwhelmed. I just don't understand what's happening," Zverev told the crowd afterward. "I couldn't have chosen a better place for winning my maiden title."
Zverev is the first ATP teenage title winner since 19-year-old Marin Cilic won New Haven in 2008. Zverev defeated two Top 10 players in succession, ninth-ranked Tomas Berdych and the third-ranked Wawrinka, to win his maiden title leaving both veterans impressed.
"Alexander is the future of tennis," Wawrinka said. "He has already had some big wins over the top players. I saw his match against Tomas Berdych, he played really well."
Reigning US Open champion Wawrinka carried a 10-match winning streak onto court, and earned break points in his opponent's first two service games. Contesting his third career final, Zverev drew first blood.
Sliding a forehand pass crosscourt, Zverev gained break point in the sixth game. The lanky German's two-handed backhand is one of his best weapons and Zverev used it effectively zapping a backhand winner down the line. The ball was called wide, but Zverev successfully challenged, Hawk-Eye showed the shot touched the line giving him the first break and a 4-2 lead.
It was the first time Wawrinka was broken in the tournament, snapping a streak of 30 consecutive service holds.
Cracking an inside-out forehand winner, Zverev broke again to snatch a one-set lead.
In the third game of the second set, Wawrinka grinded through a lengthy exchange drawing a mis-hit forehand for a fifth break point. Zverev pulled a surprise serve-and-volley and was in position for a backhand, but blocked the volley deep. Wawrinka bellowed "come on!" breaking for the first time for 2-1.
The top seed slashed an ace off the sideline backing up the break for 3-1 after one hour of play.
Striking with more authority, Wawrinka rolled through the second set.
The three-time Grand Slam champion snatched another break and the set when Zverev rattled his fifth double fault into the middle of the net.
That miscue enabled Wawrinka to start the final set on serve.
Spraying a crosscourt forehand wide, Zverev splattered his Head racket to the court in frustration handing Wawrinka a second break point.
Working over the German's errant forehand for much of the point, Wawrinka whipped an inside-out forehand winner breaking again for 2-0 after 96 minutes.
Down 0-3 in the decider, Zverev, who had lost his prior two finals falling in three sets to Dominic Thiem in Nice and to Florian Mayer in Halle, dug in and charged back.
Continuing to use the slow slice backhand to force his 6'6" opponent to stoop low and scrape shots off his shoelaces, Wawrinka caused self-inflicted wounds in the fifth game.
The US Open champion netted a slice backhand to face break point then sprayed a forehand as Zverev broke back for 2-3.
Deadlocked at deuce in the 10th game, Wawrinka lined up his signature shot, but narrowly missed the sideline with a backhand pass crosscourt. Instead of facing match point, Zverev had a game point and held for 5-all.
Wawrinka, who had targeted Zverev's forehand wing in the final set, missed successive forehands spitting up the break and a 6-5 lead.
On his second championship point, Zverev snapped a forehand pass down the line to wrap his first ATP title in two hours, 23 minutes covering his face with his hands in joy.
"I just never gave up," said Zverev, who collected the champion's check of $163,485. "You shouldn't give up in the final. I'm pleased with my win."
Zverev is the eighth first-time champion on the ATP Tour this season. He joins Nick Kyrgios, Diego Schwartzmann, Steve Johnson, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Paolo Lorenzi, Pablo Carreno Busta and Lucas Pouille, who defeated Dominic Thiem in the Metz final earlier today, in winning a maiden title.