Alexander Zverev becomes 2nd player outside Big 4 in the last 18 years to win 6 titles in a season
Alexander Zverev clinched his second ATP Finals crown on Sunday, defeating Daniil Medvedev in the summit clash. Zverev had previously triumphed at the event in 2018.
The win in Turin is the German's sixth title of the 2021 season. That makes him only the second player since 2003 outside of the Big 4 (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray) to pull off such a feat.
🇨🇿 Ivan Lendl 1982
🇸🇪 Stefan Edberg 1989
🇺🇸 Andre Agassi 1990
🇩🇪 Alexander Zverev 2021
The 4 players in #NittoATPFinals history to beat the World No. 1 and No. 2 in the semi-final and final! https://t.co/kVaHwS3wrw
The only other non-Big 4 player in the last 18 years to bag at least six titles in a season is David Ferrer; the Spaniard won seven titles in 2012. Before Ferrer, the last non-Big 4 male player to win six or more titles in a season was Andy Roddick in 2003.
Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray have been dominating men's tennis ever since the Swiss won his first Slam back in 2003. More impressively, a member of the Big 4 won a minimum of six titles every season for 14 years (2004 to 2017).
Alexander Zverev is the first player since Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal (both 2017) to finish a season with six titles or more. Novak Djokovic came close this year but ended up with five titles. The Serb also won five titles in 2019.
A look at the titles won by Alexander Zverev in 2021
Alexander Zverev began the 2021 season with 13 ATP titles under his name. He won his 14th title at the Mexican Open, beating close rival Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.
The German added to his tally by winning the Madrid Open, beating Matteo Berrettini in the final. He also claimed the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, which is counted as a title as per the ATP website.
Zverev then became the first and only male player to win two Masters 1000 titles in 2021, when he triumphed at Cincinnati. The 24-year-old capped off a successful season by clinching title wins at Vienna and the ATP Finals.
How Alexander Zverev's feat compares to Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal & Andy Murray's achievements
🇩🇪 Alexander Zverev has closed the 2021 season with 6 @atptour titles
Since 2004 only the Fab 4 + David Ferrer had won at least 6 trophies in a season
#NittoATPFinals https://t.co/B3EkOD6vUk
Roger Federer won a whopping 11 titles in 2004 and 2005. He did one better in 2006, as he won 12 events. But those numbers still fall short of the all-time record of 16 titles in a season, achieved by each of Rod Laver, Ilie Nastase and Guillermo Vilas.
Federer also won a minimum of six titles in 2007, 2012, 2015 and 2017.
Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, won 11 titles in 2005 and 10 in 2013. Besides those years, the Mallorcan also won a minimum of six titles in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2017.
Novak Djokovic won 11 titles in 2015 and 10 in 2011. He also pulled off the feat of winning six or more titles in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016.
Andy Murray has won at least six titles in a season twice - 2009 and 2016. The Scot lifted six trophies in 2009 and nine in 2016.