World No. 3 Zverev Wins ATP Munich, Heads to Madrid

Alexander Zverev won the all-German BMW Open by FWU title on Sunday, his second consecutive in Munich, defeating three-time Munich champion Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-3.
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“I am obviously very happy with how I played,” said Zverev. “Very happy to get back-to-back titles here. It is a very special event for me so I am very happy that I could defend my title.”

It was the first all-German final since Zverev lost to Florian Mayer at the 2016 Gerry Weber Open, and the first time Zverev successfully defended a title. For the 21-year-old it was a seventh career title.

The 34-year-old Kohlschreiber had won three Munich titles defeating Mikhail Youzhny (2007), Marin Cilic (2012) and Dominic Thiem (2016), and losing in finals to Tommy Haas (2013) and Andy Murray (2015).

“Losing the final is never easy or fun, especially if you see Sascha driving with the car, but he deserved it,” Kohlschreiber said. “He played better this final. I think he played a really good match. Great week for me and for sure I will be coming back next year.”

Zverev at 3-3 in both sets surged across the finish line after navigating breaks and tricky situations early in both sets.

“I had to play my best tennis to have a chance, so that is what I did,” said Zverev. “At the beginning I was struggling a little bit and then I found my rhythm and felt very good on court.”

The world No. 3 Zverev next heads to Madrid then Rome in an effort to raise his first Masters-level title of the year.

“[I feel] quite good, obviously winning a title here helps,” said Zverev. “I played well in Monte Carlo so very confident and hopefully I can continue to play like I played.”

Zverev after his first title of the year improves to 7-4 in career championship matches. Kohschreiber fell to 8-10 in career finals.