Madrid Open 2021 Alexander Zverev cruises past Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4 to enter final

Picture Credit: ATP

Alexander Zverev defeated Dominic Thiem in two straight sets in the semi-final of Madrid Open 2021 on Saturday. The 24-year-old German got the better of his Austrian opponent 6-3, 6-4 to cruise to the final of the tournament. 

1st Set 

As the semi-final started between third seed Austrian and fifth seed German, the windy day at the Manolo Santana Stadium encouraged both these players to be aggressive since the first set. While Thiem had a positive start, his unforced errors led Zverev break through 2 of his serves to take a comfortable lead. 

Although Thiem had 100% accuracy while winning point on the 2nd serve, Zverev was adamant on making Thiem run around the entire court for points. It did seem like Thiem is making a recovery in the first set when he ragged up 3-5. 

However, it was the German who delivered a swift game-winning punch and sealed the first set 6-3 in his favour after more than 40 minutes of rigorous tennis.

2nd set 

The 2nd set also started in the same way, Dominic Thiem started out on a positive note, winning the first game after great resilience from the #5 seed. But Alexander Zverev’s confidence only kept growing by leaps and bounds as he broke Thiem’s serve twice to again take a 4-1 lead. 

The Austrian did try fighting back his way into the game by breaking Zverev’s serve. Not only that, Thiem inched past Zverev in a 12-minute-long game, with the hopes of making a significant comeback. Yet, Zverev thrived on Thiem’s inefficiency to move forward, winning the 2nd set 6-4 after Thiem’s late surge to form. 

Both these players were known for their sheer pace and ability to win on their serve. Dominic Thiem favourably cruised past his American opponent, John Isner after dropping the first set 3-6 and then wining 6-3 and 6-4. Meanwhile, Alexandre Zverev did the unthinkable by beating the first seed Rafael Nadal in straight sets to set up an exciting semi-final encounter at Madrid Open 2021. 

Having said that, Alexander Zverev will battle in the final against the winner from the other semi-final match between Casper Ruud and Matteo Berrettini.