Home » On this day: Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal are added to the exclusive list by Alexander Zverev

Alexander Zverev added another illustrious book to his library on this day one year ago. The German had a fantastic run and won four Masters 1000 titles before winning the Olympic singles title in Tokyo. The 24-year-old overcame Novak Djokovic in the semifinal after falling behind 6-1, 3-2, gaining momentum and moving on to the gold medal match.

Alexander advanced into the final because Novak lost the momentum and losing ten of the last eleven games. In the title match against Karen Khachanov, Zverev had the opportunity to compete for Germany’s first Olympic singles gold medal since Steffi Graf in 1988.

In one hour and 19 minutes, Alexander defeated his friend, 6-3, 6-1, earning one of his career’s most coveted trophies. Zverev won his 16th ATP title at age 24 and controlled the match from beginning to end. Alexander won for the third time, his first since Roland Garros 2018, in their fifth encounter.

Since 1988, Germany’s first Olympic gold in the singles competition was won by Alexander Zverev.

Zverev, who had strong serving throughout the competition, lost 11 points after Khachanov’s opening shot. He stopped the lone break attempt and took half of the return points.

From eight chances, Alexander converted them into four breaks, giving him a decisive advantage on the court. To keep the pace under control, the German had 40 victories and 15 unforced errors. In order to win the gold medal, Zverev established an edge in the shortest and mid-range rallies and maintained it the entire time.

Alexander grabbed control with a smash winner in the third game to open a 2-1 lead after both players served effectively to score in the first two games. The German maintained his advantage in game four with a service winner and held off the first and only break attempt at 3-2.

Using all of his strengths, Zverev held at 30 in game eight with an unreturned serve and won the first set when Khachanov made a costly volley error in the following game. When Karen netted a forehand at the start of the second set, the German held at love and went up 6-3, 2-0.

At 0-3 and after a protracted exchange, Khachanov squandered game points and lost the game. With a hold at love to end the fifth game and make the score 5-1, Alexander clinched the deal.