Alexander Zverev notched the biggest win of his career thus far, capturing the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday after beating Karen Khachanov in the men's singles tennis final. Zverev, who stunned Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, needed just one hour and 19 minutes to defeat Khachanov in the gold medal match, winning in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.
Zverev became the first German to win an Olympic gold medal in men's singles in tennis with the victory. He joined the great Steffi Graf as the only German tennis player to win a singles Olympic gold. Graf famously accomplished that feat in 1988 as part of her Golden Slam, during which she also won the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon Championships and the U.S. Open.
Zverev destroys Khachanov in final
Zverev has yet to win any of those Grand Slam tournaments, but he made sure he won the next best thing on Sunday. He got off to a great start against Khachanov in the final, grabbing an early break to jump to a 3-1 lead in the first set.
Zverev's groundstrokes had great depth during the opening set, forcing Khachanov to be on the defensive behind the baseline. He broke Khachanov's serve for a second time later on in the first set with Zverev on the clear ascendancy. The German star wrapped up the first set when Khachanov sent a volley wide on his second set point.
Zverev continued to pile on the pressure in the second set, immediately breaking Khachanov's serve in the second game. Khachanov had no answer for Zverev's power, who committed just seven unforced errors in the second set.
Also aiding Zverev's victory in the final was his impeccable first serve. He took full advantage of his powerful serve, winning 87 percent of his first serve points (26/30). Zverev also ran Khachanov to the ground, blasting a total of 22 winners in the straight-sets win.
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Disappointing run for Djokovic in Tokyo as Golden Slam dreams end
What makes Zverev's gold medal win so much sweeter is that he had to defeat the best tennis player in the world right now on his way to the title. Zverev pulled off a gigantic upset in the semifinals, ousting Novak Djokovic in three sets.
Djokovic has been unstoppable of late, and he looked to be on his way to the gold medal match after winning the first set against Zverev, 6-1. Zverev produced a comeback for the ages, though, taking the next two sets, 6-3, 6-1, to end Djokovic's dream of winning his first Olympic gold medal and completing the Golden Slam this year.
Djokovic lost another semifinal later in the mixed doubles event to further add to the Serbian's pain, permanently ending his gold medal dreams here in Tokyo. Djokovic, who arrived in Tokyo as the overwhelming favorite in men's singles, left the Asian nation empty-handed as he also lost in the bronze medal match to Pablo Carreno Busta.
Djokovic then withdrew his participation in the mixed doubles event due to a left shoulder injury, depriving his partner Nina Stojanovic of a medal chance and handing the bronze to Australian pair Ashleigh Barty and John Peers.
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