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Tokyo – World No. 5 Alexander Zverev won the men’s singles tennis gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics when he defeated Russia’s Karen Khachanov 6–3 6–1 on Sunday to win the title of his career. I got it.
The 24-year-old, who has not yet won a Grand Slam title, dismantled Khachanov in 79 minutes and became the first German to win a singles Olympic gold medal.
Zverev, who won a rare victory over the world’s number one Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, is the second German to win the Olympic singles tennis gold medal by rivaling Stephi Graf’s achievements at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. became.
“There are only a few people in the world who are happier than me at this point,” Zverev said. “I can’t compare it because it’s so much bigger than anything else in the sport,” he told reporters.
“The gold medal for me at the Olympics is incredible. The Olympics are the largest sporting event in the world. There is nothing comparable to this.
“I have this golden one on my neck, and it’s not one of the 50 gold chains I usually wear.”
Zverev was perfect throughout and never allowed his opponent to look in when he took an early break on the first set and cruised to a 3 to 1 lead.
There were no signs of nervousness as he bagged the first set when he defeated Khachanov a second time and his opponent sent a simple volley wide at Germany’s second set point.
Zverev has suffered from a series of personal problems and messy changes in management over the past few years, but has also built up a reputation for being a very talented player who can’t finish a big game.
There is nothing to distract
But on Sunday, even the loud protests of a few anti-Olympic demonstrators rushing to the center court through loudspeakers when he defeated the unfortunate Russian again in the second game of the second set. I couldn’t distract him.
Zverev, who has long been criticized for his perceived mental weakness, including losing to Dominic Thiem when he surrendered two sets of leads in last year’s US Open final, is now wrong. I proved that.
He remained in full control, and when he threw his forehand into the net at Zverev’s first matchpoint, he overtook an opponent he could only see when he settled in silver, thundering the backhand winner. rice field.
The German knelt before he lifted his arm high in the victory, knowing that he had finally won a big prize.
Khachanov won all four of his ATP titles on the hard court, but never approached adding to its haul on Sunday.
Khachanov was competing in Tokyo on behalf of the Russian Olympic Commission (ROC) after the national flag and national anthem were stripped due to a doping breach.
Germany also won the Olympic gold medal in the doubles with Boris Becker and Michael Stich at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Spain’s Pablo Carreño Busta secured bronze on Saturday after defeating Djokovic.
By Rozanna Latiff and Karolos Grohmann
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