Alexander Zverev says he expects an 'extremely tough' Madrid Open final against Carlos Alcaraz
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Updated 08/05/2022 at 08:29 GMT
Alexander Zverev says he is "just renting" the Manolo Santana Stadium from Spanish legend Rafa Nadal and his heir apparent Carlos Alcaraz, but that he hopes to cause the latter some trouble in their Madrid Open final on Sunday. Zverev has a great record in the Spanish capital and further boosted that with his semi-final win over Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Highlights: Zverev sets up Alcaraz final in Madrid after hard-fought Tsitsipas win
Alexander Zverev says he expects an "extremely tough" match against Carlos Alcaraz after sealing an engrossing three-set win over Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the Madrid Open final.
Zverev, the defending champion, was once more in his element at the Caja Magica, losing just 16 points on his own serve to come through 6-4 3-6 6-2 and set up a much-anticipated final against the 19-year-old Alcaraz.
Alcaraz came through his semi-final with a momentous win over Novak Djokovic, having also downed Rafa Nadal in the quarters - the first time anyone had ever beaten those two totems of the sport on clay back-to-back.
Zverev said: "I thought from yesterday [Friday] onwards I started to play really well.
"I'm just extremely happy to be in the final here. I know it's going to be an extremely tough match but I hope I can manage to play my best and give myself a chance."
Zverev - bar a late wobble on serve - had been just as impressive in his straight-sets quarter-final victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime, but seemed to try and play down any notion of him being the favourite for Sunday's final, despite holding a 2-0 record in his head-to-head with Alcaraz.
"I have been playing well, so I'm just renting it [the Manolo Santana Stadium court]," the German joked.
"It's going to be his [Alcaraz's] court for the next 15 years probably. It has been Rafa's court for the past 15 years and it's going to be his court for the next 15 years.
I just hope I can give him some trouble and I hope I can manage to win tomorrow.
Zverev and Tsitsipas had gone blow-for-blow in the early stages of their last-four clash, but the German managed to land the only break of the first set in the seventh game, maintaining his lead thereafter to take the upper hand.
Tsitsipas had just two break point opportunities during the entire encounter, but he pounced on the first late in the second set to level matters up at one set all.
However Zverev stepped on the gas in the decider, surging into a 3-0 lead and never looking back.
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