Alexander Zverev wins Munich Open on clay to send out warning ahead of French Open
German defeats 158th-ranked Guido Pella 6-4 6-3 to land his third tour title
Sunday 7 May 2017 18:42, UK
Alexander Zverev stormed past Argentine qualifier Guido Pella to win the Munich Open on clay.
Zverev sealed his second title of the season with a comfortable 6-4 6-3 success, confirming his fine form ahead of this month's French Open.
The world No 20, who ousted second seed clay court specialist Roberto Bautista-Agut in the last four, needed just over an hour to capture his third tour title after St. Petersburg and Montpellier.
The start of the final on a soggy day in Munich had to be delayed half a dozen times and Zverev had an equally slow start, falling 4-2 behind against his 158th-ranked opponent, who was contesting his first ever tour final.
The 20-year-old, though, battled back, winning 10 points in a row and then clinched the first set without losing another game.
An early break in the second was all it took for the talented Zverev - seen as a likely future Grand Slam winner - to secure the title on his first match point and set a marker ahead of the French Open starting on May 22.
At the Estoril Open, top seed from Spain Pablo Carreno-Busta edged out Gilles Muller from Luxembourg, 6-2 7-6 (7-5) to land his first title of the year.
And in Turkey, Croatia's Marin Cilic outdueled top seed Milos Raonic 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 to claim the Istanbul Open title.
World No 8 Cilic defeated Raonic in a battle of big hitters to secure his 17th career title - just his second on clay - in little over two hours.
For last year's Wimbledon runner-up Raonic it was a fifth straight loss in a final, with his last title coming in Brisbane at the start of 2016.
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