Two things that stood out in Alexander Zverev's win over Laslo Djere in the Hamburg European Open final
Fourth seed Alexander Zverev of Germany beat Laslo Djere of Serbia 7-5 6-3 in the final of the Hamburg European Open on 30th July. It was the 20th ATP singles title for the player, who did not drop a set in the tournament.
However, the 28-year-old Serb fought well on the match, especially in the first set. Still, Zverev was simply the better player on the day and quite deservedly won the match.
The win should come as a boost for the 26-year-old German’s career, as he has had to go through an indifferent form and personal troubles in the recent past.
On that note, let us take a look at two things that stood out in the match:
#1. Zverev pounded Djere’s backhand:
Zverev, who has one of the best backhands in the business, kept pounding his opponent’s backhand by engaging the latter in crosscourt backhand exchanges from the beginning.
Djere held his own with his backhand, but opted for slices at times to give the German an opportunity to dispatch the short ball with ease. Moreover, Zverev also hit the sharp angle more frequently with his backhand to push Djere into the latter’s backhand corner to gain upper hand in the rallies.
Still, the Serb had a couple of break point opportunities in the ninth game, but Zverev did really well to save both of them and then hold his serve. He then broke Djere in the 12th game of the set, hitting a wonderful lob on set point to finish it off.
#2. Djere played his drop shots and passes well, but lacked the weapons to hurt Zverev:
Djere displayed good touch by playing his subtle drop shots well and also managed to pass the German on a few occasions. However, he did not have enough weapons to hurt Zverev, who was decidedly the more powerful player.
The big German started the second set really well to race to a 4-1 lead, breaking Djere once in the process. However, the Serb then broke back in the seventh game to reduce the deficit to 3-4.
The break of serve presented Djere an opportunity to come back into the match, but he was broken in the subsequent game to trail 3-5. Zverev then served the match out, dispatching yet another short ball with his forehand on match point.
The German won 77% of the points on his first serve, while the Serb managed 68%, which proved to be the decisive difference between the two in the match.