Chengdu Open: Zverev wins his 21st ATP title

German Alexander Zverev, the top seed, beat Russian Roman Safiullin 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-3 to lift the Chengdu Open trophy at the Sichuan International Tennis Center on Tuesday afternoon.

The victory sees Zverev claim his 21st ATP title, and move well within range of qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin this November. The German had to win the hard way in Chengdu, however, coming back from a set down and two points away from defeat in the second set, to win in two hours, 56 minutes.

After the win, Zverev spoke highly of Safiullin’s tennis, saying:

“Congratulations Roman. Incredible week and incredible tennis. We played each other a lot of times in juniors, from under 14s and under 18s. It’s great to see how we grew up together and how far we’ve come.

“If you keep playing like this, you can be top 20. You’re one of the most dangerous players I’ve ever played. I’ve been playing great tennis this week and all of a sudden, I came out today and had absolutely no idea for what to do for a set and a half… I wish you and your team nothing but the best.”

In the previous rounds of the Chengdu tournament, Zverev, ranked No 10, defeated Russian qualifier Pavel Kotov (7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-1), Serb Miomir Kecmanovic, the No 7 seed (5-7, 7-5, 6-2) and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, the No 3 seed (6-3, 7-6 (2)).

Safiullin, ranked No 55, beat American Brandon Nakashima (6-4, 6-4), No 4 seed Daniel Evans (6-3, 6-3), Australian Jordan Thompson (7-6 (1), 0-0 ret.) and Italian Lorenzo Musetti, the second seed (6-3, 6-4) earlier in the tournament.