Alexander Zverev claimed the final Masters 1000-level title of the year with a 6-2, 6-2 rout over local favorite Ugo Humbert in Paris on Sunday.
It had been an impressive week for the 27-year-old German, who defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals and 2022 tournament champion Holger Rune in the semifinals. In the final, he needed just 75 minutes to get past Humbert, who was playing in the biggest final of his career and had the overwhelming support of the French crowd behind him, and win his seventh Masters 1000 trophy and second of the season. Zverev didn’t face a break point throughout the match and lost just five points on serve.
After receiving the trophy, Zverev expressed to the crowd how much the title meant to him, after sustaining a debilitating ankle injury at the 2022 French Open.
“It was not 100 percent guaranteed that I would be back at this level after Roland Garros two years ago, when I basically broke everything possible in my ankle,” Zverev said. “So to win this title here in Paris means the world to me, and I’m sure it means everything to those in my box, because they have done so much for me.”
It marked Zverev’s 66th match victory of 2024 — the most by any man on tour this year — and on Monday he surpassed Carlos Alcaraz for the No. 2 ranking, which he will hold entering the year-end ATP Finals.
Here’s what else you might have missed from around the tennis world last week:
Shnaider’s breakthrough year ends with another title
It’s hard to put into words just how unbelievable Diana Shnaider’s season has been.
Entering 2024, the now-20-year-old was ranked No. 93 in the world — and was even outside of the top 100 in February — and had never won a WTA title. Since then, the Russian-born Shnaider, a former standout at North Carolina State, has been on an absolute tear. She won the Hua Hin Championships in February, the 500-level Bad Homburg Open in June, the Hungarian Grand Prix in July and the Olympic silver medal in doubles with Mirra Andreeva in August. Then, she had her best major result with a fourth-round appearance at the US Open in September and ended her season on Sunday with the title in Hong Kong after a statement-making 6-1, 6-2 victory over Katie Boulter.
“I’m so happy, so proud, the way I competed this week,” Shnaider said after the match. “It’s a dream to finish the season like this with my family by my side.”
Shnaider is just the third WTA player to win four titles this season, joining Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek –…
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