ATP Tour: Zverev beats Jarry to win title in Rome, sixth Masters 1000 crown so far

Rome, May 19 (IANS) German star Alexander Zverev defeated first-time finalist Nicolas Jarry in straight sets to claim the Italian International title here and bag his sixth ATP Masters 1000 crown on Sunday. The German moved past Chile's Jarry 6-4, 7-5 at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Sunday to win the title in Rome for a second time.

With this triumph, Zverev will climb to No. 4 in the ATP Rankings on Monday, with his Rome title the biggest he has earned since he suffered a disappointing ankle injury in the Roland Garros semifinals in 2022. Before Sunday's title triumph, the 27-year-old’s most recent Masters 1000 triumph came in Cincinnati in 2021, while he also lifted the ATP Finals trophy in the same season.

Zverev showed great athleticism to soak up Jarry's big hitting during the one-hour, 41-minute minute clash and he took large cuts off both wings to take time away from the Chilean, who was unable to find the required consistency in crucial moments.

The 22-time tour-level champion was impressive throughout his run in the Italian capital, where he dropped just one set. The third seed also lifted the trophy at the clay-court event in 2017 when he was just 20 years old.

Competing in his 11th Masters 1000 final and first since Madrid in 2022, Zverev won 95 percent (37/39) of his first-serve points. He returned with depth and consistency to foil the Chilean’s big serve, improving to 5-2 in the pair’s ATP head-to-head series.

Zverev, who committed just eight unforced errors, squandered two match points on Jarry's serve at 5-4 before he eventually sealed victory on his fourth match point.

Jarry was competing in his first Masters 1000 title match, having defeated seeded players Stefanos Tsitsipas and Tommy Paul en route. The 28-year-old, who is up to No. 17 in the ATP Live Rankings, was the first Chilean to reach a final at this level since Fernando Gonzalez in Rome in 2007. The 21st seed has thus far won tour-level titles at ATP 250 events in Bastad (2019), Santiago (2023) and Geneva (2023).

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