The rematch of the 2018 Mutua Madrid Open final produced the same result. Alexander Zverev will be bidding for a second title on Sunday in the Manolo Santana Stadium after seeing off Dominic Thiem in two sets (6-3, 6-4) after one hour and 38 minutes.
The No. 6 in the ranking is delighted with his performance so far at this #MMOPEN, where he is now in the title match. “It's been two great matches for me. I think today was a little bit of a weirder match because of the wind and the conditions. The job is not done yet. I hope I can do well tomorrow. It’s been so far a good week for me. Tomorrow I have a very difficult opponent. I hope I can continue playing and performing the way I am”, admitted Zverev.
The German player has looked solid all tournament on the clay in the Spanish capital, where he is still yet to drop a single set and now has two straight wins over Top-10 players, Rafael Nadal (2) in the quarters and the Austrian (4) in the penultimate round.
Así cerró ?? @AlexZverev su presencia en la segunda final #MMOPEN de su carrera. pic.twitter.com/VguM7AxBWU
— #MMOPEN (@MutuaMadridOpen) May 8, 2021
The player from Vienna is taking the positives from his return to the tour after a brief break after Dubai. “In general I'm super happy with the week. I would have never expected to be in the semi-finals. Just, of course, there are many things to improve for next week. Just try to get to Rome and hopefully play even better than here in Madrid”, recognised the world No. 4.
A break in the fourth game was enough for Zverev to make the first set his (3-1). The 24-year-old Hamburg native put his foot down in the second, stringing together four straight games (4-1). But Thiem recovered one of his broken services (4-3) to keep the excitement alive until the end.
The result means the German’s eighth final at an ATP Masters 1000 event will now take place in the Caja Mágica as he searches for his fourth title in the category after those from Rome and Canada (2017) and the above-mentioned one from the #MMOPEN (2018).