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Svitolina, Zverev Take Rome Titles

May 22nd 2017

Elina Svitolina continued her strong season with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 comeback win against Simona Halep while Alexander Zverev made a statement with a 6-4, 6-3 victory against Novak Djokovic to win Italian Open titles.

In the women’s final, Halep bolted out to a large lead and appeared to have everything going in her direction. However, a big fall late in the first set derailed her efforts as she suffered an ankle injury that noticeably slowed her mobility. After winning the first set, the Romanian called for a trainer as it became increasingly worse.

Halep continued and in the second set, the two players sparred, with each registering a service break until Svitolina was also forced to call for the trainer with a lower back issue. However, it did not appear to dramatically affect the Ukrainian and play continued. Halep battled to try and close out the match in straight sets, but another break of serve gave Svitolina the equalizer. In the third set, Halep had little left after a medical timeout and Svitolina breezed through, taking the match.

Elina Svitolina

With the win, Svitolina moved into the world top ten and with a wide open French Open ahead, she has an opportunity for a deep run in Roland Garros. It was her fourth tour title of the year. Meanwhile, Halep, who had become a favorite in Paris with her recent play, becomes a question mark due to her injured ankle.

Every day I’m just trying to work on my mental part, my physical, my tennis,” Svitolina said. “Everything just came together and I’m very happy that it’s happened in such a big tournament.”

Meanwhile, in the men’s final, Zverev continued to exhibit why most tennis enthusiasts feel it is a matter of time before he wins a major title as he controlled the match from the outset. After an early break of service in the opening set, the German dictated play behind his serve and benefitted from errors from the Serb.

The world no. 2 struggled with consistency as play moved to the second set. The frustration mounted as the errors piled up and Djokovic received a code violation for an audible obscenity midway through the set. And as he served to stay in the match, a backhand sailed long to give Zverev the victory.

With the title, Zverev became the youngest Masters champion since Djokovic accomplished the feat in 2007.

Zverev will enter the French Open knowing he can be a contender. “It's nice to know that I can compete and play and win the biggest tournaments on tour against the biggest players on tour,” Zverev said.

The former world no.1 had praise for the up-and-comer stating, “He's making his mark already,” Djokovic said. “Today winning one of the biggest tournaments — absolutely deserved. Played great, served great. On the other hand, he didn't get much from my side. I played very poor today. Just couldn't find any rhythm.”

After the match, Djokovic announced that Andre Agassi will coach him at Roland Garros. “I spoke to Andre the last couple weeks on the phone, and we decided to get together in Paris,” Djokovic said.