Alexander Zverev defeats Alejandro Tabilo in Rome | ATP tour

Match report

Zverev ends Tabilo's run and reaches Rome's third final

German hunts for sixth Masters 1000 title

May 17, 2024

Alexander Zverev advanced to his 11th ATP Masters 1000 final and first since his catastrophic ankle injury at Roland Garros 2022 on Friday at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, ending Alejandro Tabilo's run with a hard-fought win.

The German rallied from the brink of defeat to beat Chilean Tabilo 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 in an enthralling semi-final in Rome.

“I persevered in the second set. I brought out my energy. I just kept holding on and waiting and the patience was quite good today,” Zverev said. “He knocked me off the court in the first set and I didn't play well at all, but he was a big reason why. He didn't give me a rhythm and I'm glad I turned it around in the tiebreak and walked away in the tiebreak.” the third series.”

Zverev started slowly and was unable to deal with Tabilo's drop shot throughout the opening hour. The 26-year-old, competing in his first Masters 1000 semi-final, upset No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings Novak Djokovic in the third round and competed with certainty down to 3/3 in the second set tie-break. , when he started playing more passively.

Zverev quickly pounced on Tabilo's drop in level to force a decider in the pair's first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. The third seed then increased his intensity in the third set to advance to the final in Rome for a third time.

Finally did it@AlexZverev dominated the #ConversionScore in the 3rd set after a slow start

Tabilo vs. Zverev #ConversionScore per set:

1 = 88% vs. 46%
2 = 71% vs 79%
3 = 54% vs. 91%#ConversionScore calculates the percentage of points the player has won pic.twitter.com/p2Ay9B0cWN

— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) May 17, 2024

With his two-hour, 16-minute win, Zverev broke his four-match losing streak in tour-level semifinals. The 27-year-old's last final and title came in September 2023 in Chengdu, while his previous championship match at ATP Masters 1000 level took place in Madrid in 2022.

Zverev lifted the trophy in Rome in 2017 when he was just 20 years old and will challenge for his sixth ATP Masters 1000 title on Sunday when he takes on American Tommy Paul or Chilean Nicolas Jarry. By advancing to the title match, the two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion has equaled Boris Becker's record for the most ATP Masters 1000 finals appearances by a German since the series began in 1990.

Sunday's final is Zverev's biggest since the German suffered an ankle injury in the Roland Garros semi-finals against Rafael Nadal in 2022. He will rise to No. 4 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings if he wins the title in Rome, while will climb to second place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.

Zverev made 69 percent of his first serves in the match, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and won 80 percent (45/56) of the points behind his opening throw. In contrast, he won only 36 percent (9/25) of points on his second serve, with Tabilo making large cuts to the ball on return.

“When he plays the way he plays, it's hard to be aggressive,” Zverev said. “It's hard to just say that I'm going to hit harder with my forehand or backhand. If I'm just picking up balls, that's definitely difficult. The only thing I didn't do well in the beginning was serve well. I think that helps Not. All in all, I'm happy in the final. In the end, winning is the most important thing.”

Tabilo didn't drop a set en route to the semifinals and is up seven places to No. 25 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. The 26-year-old won his first tour-level title in Auckland in January, while he triumphed at the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Aix-en-Provence earlier this month. He played at number 32 in his career in Rome.