Zverev defeats Federer in Rogers Cup final to keep winning streak alive
20-year-old German posts 10th straight match victory
Alexander Zverev's hot streak is still alive.
The German downed a listless-looking Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4 in the Rogers Cup final on Sunday.
The 20-year-old Zverev, the winner last week in Washington, D.C., posted a 10th straight match victory and ended 36-year-old Federer's winning streak at 16. The German also equalled Federer with a fifth tournament victory this year.
He will try to keep it going at an event in Cincinnati this week.
"It's something amazing, back-to-back weeks," said Zverev, who handed Federer only his third loss of the year. "I feel great.
"I feel like I'm playing some of the best tennis of my life. But Cincinnati is a very tough draw. I don't know if I will be able to go far there because I am a little bit tired. But game-wise and confidence-wise, I'm super happy the way everything is standing."
He avenged a loss to Federer at Halle, Germany on June 25 and evened their career head-to-head record at two wins apiece.
Fourth-seeded Zverev won $894,585 US while second-seeded Federer got $438,635.
Zverev used some sharp ground strokes to keep Federer from taking control early and get the only service break he needed to win the first set.
The lanky German escaped a break point at 1-0 in the second set with consecutive aces, and an off form looking Federer never challenged again. Federer said he only felt "aches and pains " from playing in his first tournament of the hard court season, but it looked to be more than that.
Zverev said he only noticed that his opponent's serve wasn't quite as hard. He broke a mistake-prone Federer for a 4-3 lead and served out the match.
He will climb to seventh in world rankings with the win, his second Masters 1000 Series victory this year along with Rome, and is looking more and more like a future grand slam tournament winner.
"I am in the top 10 now and I feel like I'm playing the right tennis, well enough tennis to be there," he said. "Everything is going pretty natural.
"Obviously winning the two Masters 1000 events, everybody would be proud of that."
Zverev, the youngest Rogers Cup finalist since Novak Djokovic in 2007, was coming off an emotional victory over Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov in the semifinals that was seen by some, including Federer, as the start of what could be a long rivalry between two of the sport's young guns.
"I loved watching Denis play," said Federer. "I think he had the matches of the tournament, with all these great three-setters that he had, especially the one against Rafa [Nadal].
"I think he caught the attention of the tennis world, and rightfully so. Alexander has been around for a while now. I'm just really happy for him, to see that he's taking everything not just to the next level, but the two next levels, winning two Masters 1000s. They're extremely difficult to win and he's won two this year."
Federer missed a chance to tie Ivan Lendl for second place all-time with 94 career tournament wins. Jimmy Connors leads with 109.
He gave no details of his physical state, but is not sure if he will play in Cincinnati or save himself for the U.S. Open, which starts Aug. 28. He will be going for a third grand slam title this year, after wins at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and the record 20th of his career.
"I'll see how I feel after five days of playing, if I'm ready to play in Cincy next week or not," he said. "I felt all right all week.
"I had a bit of muscle pain, aches and pains here and there, just because it's back on the match courts, on the hard courts. After vacation and practice, it's always a bit of a shock for the body."
In the doubles final, fifth-seeded Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut defeated seventh-seeded Rohan Bopanna of India and Ivan Dodig of Croatia 6-4, 3-6, 10-6.
Svitolina downs Wozniacki
Sleep-deprived and physically drained, Elina Svitolina could have been excused for a flat performance Sunday.
Instead she fought through the fatigue and toppled yet another top-10 opponent for her fifth WTA Tour title of the season.
Running on fumes in her third match in just over 24 hours, Svitolina defeated Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-0 to win the Rogers Cup.
"I'm just very happy that it's finished," Svitolina said. "And with a title, it's even more special."
Wet weather on Friday evening forced Svitolina to play her quarter-final Saturday morning. Tired from a late night and nursing a minor right Achilles tendon injury, her expectations were low.
She didn't even bother packing a second outfit for the evening semifinal and had a flight booked to the next WTA Tour stop in Cincinnati.
Svitolina went on to dispatch fourth-ranked Garbine Muguruza in the quarters, went back to the hotel to get changed and then returned to Aviva Centre to trounce second-ranked Simona Halep.
Svitolina hand-washed an outfit for Sunday's final, changed her flight, and capped the tournament with an emphatic victory over the sixth-ranked Wozniacki on a breezy, sunny afternoon.
"I was very, very tired after the first game of the first set," Svitolina said. "And I knew that I needed to give everything because Caroline doesn't miss much ... emotionally I was relieved when I won the first set and then was playing better and better in the second.
"And yeah, it just happened. I really couldn't believe that it's all finished and I'm holding the trophy."
The 22-year-old Ukrainian relied on her strong baseline game and retrieving prowess. Consistency was key and the steady pressure eventually forced Wozniacki into mistakes.
Wozniacki tried adjusting the height and speed of her shots but Svitolina's powerful groundstrokes and strong service game were too much.
"It was a tough day," Wozniacki said. "She played well. She mixed up the pace and made it uncomfortable for me out there."
The match appeared rather even at the start as both players tried to feel the other out.
A break at love at 4-4 gave Svitolina the edge in the first set and she wasn't threatened again in the 77-minute match.
"Obviously I had to go for it a bit more," Wozniacki said. "It was longer rallies, so normally you have the opportunity to have more unforced errors. It is what it is."
Svitolina had a 15-10 edge in winners. Both players had 21 unforced errors and four aces apiece.
Svitolina, who beat ninth-ranked Venus Williams in the third round, knocked off four top-10 players in all.
She earned $501,975 US for her third Premier 5 title of the year and will rise one spot to a career-high No. 4 in the new rankings.
"I think this was great tournament for me, I beat four really good players," Svitolina said. "It was a very, very special week for me."
Wozniacki, a 27-year-old former world No. 1 from Denmark, will take home $243,920 of the $2.74-million purse. The 2010 Rogers Cup champion fell to 0-6 in finals this season while Svitolina improved to 5-0.
Announced attendance for the final was a near-sellout of 7,997. The overall total for the week was 125,777.
In the doubles final, top-seeded Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina posted a 6-0, 6-4 win over eighth-seeded Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany and Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic.