Alexander Zverev continued his winning streak as he defeated Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-3 to clinch the Cincinnati ATP Masters title on Sunday.
The German is now on an 11-match winning streak, having won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics earlier this month.
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His fifth Masters title, and fourth title of the season, has helped Zverev gain momentum for the US Open, which begins next week. The German had made it to the finals of the major in New York last year, losing in five sets to Dominic Thiem.
The quickest men's final in recorded tournament history (59 minutes) 🕒@AlexZverev | #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/o8svkkXqbI
— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 22, 2021
“The US Open is a week that everybody is looking forward to. I think Novak [Djokovic] will be back. He’s obviously going to be the favourite, as well. But I think other guys are going to be in great shape,” Zverev said after winning the title in Cincinnati.
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“I’m looking forward to the week. Let’s see how it goes. But there is still one week to go. I still have a lot of work ahead of me. I have to find my rhythm in New York, as well.”
Zverev ended World No. 1 Djokovic’s bid for the Golden Grand Slam this season on his way to Olympic gold in Tokyo last month.
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The Serb has not played an event since Tokyo, but Zverev holds no doubt he will still be the man to beat at the US Open.
“I do think that he’s still the favourite. I do think he’s going to be playing incredible tennis there,” Zverev said.
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“He’s going to be fresh, and I think there is also other guys that are in very good form. I think Rublev is in very good form, (Daniil) Medvedev, (Stefanos) Tsitsipas, all those guys are playing great tennis.
“It’s definitely going to be an interesting US Open. But I’m also looking forward to it, because I know where I stand, I know how I’m playing, and I hope I can continue the work and hopefully play even better in New York.”
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