A year ago, the fast-improving, strapping 6ft 6in teenager Alexander Zverev was already making a name for himself when he came to the Rome Masters for the first time.
Still just 18, the tennis tour sat up and took notice as he held match point against Rafael Nadal in Indian Wells, only to net an easy smash. Zverev then broke into the top 50 with a run to the Munich semi-finals, and although he would lose to Roger Federer in the second round at the Foro Italico, he would make the Nice final the very next week. He went on to reach the third round of a Major for the first time at Roland Garros—and the trajectory has continued to rise ever since.
His all-court power game transferred to the hard and indoor courts, too—semis in Washington and his first title in St Petersburg, beating the likes of Tomas Berdych and Stan Wawrinka along the way.
He arrived in Madrid last week with two titles, Montpellier and Munich, and made it to his second Masters quarter-final.
Now in Rome again, at just turned 20, he was seeded No16, and carrying the burden of “possible future No1” on his shoulders. Yet he carries such expectations with a confidence and poise beyond his years, happy to let his tennis do the talking.
He beat Kevin Anderson, Fabio Fognini, and Milos Raonic for a 25-9 record this season, 14-3 on clay, and was into his first Masters semi-final—the youngest to do so in Rome since Nadal in 2006.
And should he reach his first Masters final, he would be the youngest to do that at any Masters since Novak Djokovic in Miami in 2007. He would also rise to a new career-high No14. All he had to do was beat John Isner, here unseeded himself but ploughing through the seeds with the kind of tennis that once took him to three previous Masters finals.
He had taken out No14 Albert Ramos-Vinolas, No3 seed Wawrinka, and No6 Marin Cilic, in a long and gruelling road exacerbated by three long matches in the doubles draw too. What’s more, Zverev had beaten Isner in their two previous matches. Just weeks ago, the young German survived three tie-break sets in Miami.
This time around, Zverev could do little wrong, especially in the first set, even with Isner playing aggressive and attacking tennis. Rarely has the big American with the devastating serve come to the net as often—a tactic too long missing from his game in the past—but it was Zverev who got the only break point of the set and converted it with a drop-shot winner. He held for 4-2, and by the time he reached 5-3, he had made 12 winners to just one unforced error.
Half an hour on the clock and he had the set, 6-4, and the roars of approval from the packed centre court rebounded around the sun-drenched arena.
But if that was close, the second set took it to another level: Not a break point on either side and only one game that went to deuce. A terrific smash from the baseline by Isner ensured the hold, and a drop shot followed by a cross-court pass held the next for Zverev.
The German held to love for 5-5, the American serve and volleyed twice for 6-5, and sure enough, they headed to a tie-break, with winners still flowing from both rackets: 30 on Zverev’s side, 24 on Isner’s, including his 100th ace of the tournament.
Isner raced to a lead, 5-0, with another ace but Zverev edged back to 5-6 before Isner finished it off with a forehand winner, 7-6(5).
However, the third set would race away from the American as Zverev maintained an impressive level on both wings, with a drop here, a volley finish there, and some confident overheads grooved by plenty of doubles play with his older brother.
On break point in the second game, Zverev slotted a cross-court backhand winner and consolidated with his second love hold. A weary Isner went for broke in fifth game and brought the crowd to its feet with two blistering return-of-serve winners, but a cool and assured Zverev saved three break points for 4-1, broke again, and served it out with a flourish, a big forehand smash, to achieve the next milestone in his resume: a first Masters final, 6-1.
He would have to wait a while to find out his last opponent, either a first meeting with four-time champion and No2 seed Novak Djokovic or his sixth meeting in the space of a year with another young star, Dominic Thiem.
The 23-year-old Austrian made his own first Masters final last week in Madrid, and played some superb tennis in Rome to beat Nadal in the quarter-finals. And would next play a Djokovic whose campaign was disrupted by rain-storms during his own quarter-final clash with Juan Martin del Potro. The Serb eventually came through with relative ease when their match resumed this morning, 6-1, 6-4.
Thiem is already a top-10 player, and would reach a career-high No6 with victory over Djokovic. But Zverev now also has his sights on a top-10 place should he claim an historic victory in Rome.
Only three other men have denied the ‘big four’ in the last 40 Masters tournaments. Would one of the rising new generation become the fourth?