It will be a rare all-unseeded final at a 500-point event when Alexander Zverev goes up against fellow German Florian Mayer on Sunday in Halle. Zverev is one win away from his first career ATP title after upsetting Roger Federer.
Alexander Zverev and Florian Mayer will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when the two Germans battle for the Gerry Weber Open title on Sunday afternoon.
For Mayer, his first final appearance since Bucharest in 2011 has come from just about out of nowhere. Struggling down at No. 192 in the rankings mainly because of major injury problems, Mayer had won just 15 ATP-level matches since the start of 2014 when he took the court this week. He also scoffed at being denied a wild card in Halle, forcing him to use one of his protected-ranking entries in order to participate. The rest is history, as the former world No. 18 is through to his sixth title match following straight-set victories over Brian Baker, Andreas Seppi, and Dominic Thiem (he also got a second-round walkover from Kei Nishikori).
Sunday’s showdown had Thiem vs. Roger Federer written all over it for much of the week, but neither one remains on the schedule. Before Mayer took out Thiem in the semis, Zverev stunned the eight-time champion Federer 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-3. It was Federer’s sixth loss in 60 Halle matches and just his third in his last 49 outings. Zverev preceded that triumph by beating Viktor Troicki, Benjamin Becker, and Marcos Baghdatis in mostly routine fashion. The 19-year-old German is now 27-14 for the season and will find himself in the top 30 on Monday.
“I think it’s going to be a very tough match,” Mayer commented. “He’s a young, [up-and-coming] German player. He will be in the top 10 for sure in the future. I think he will be the favorite. Maybe the pressure is a little bit more on his side to win his first title. We will see.”
The 32-year-old is correct on all counts. Zverev is an obvious favorite on paper, but he has never won an ATP title and the difficulty of building on such a monumental win approximately 24 hours later should not be underestimated. This matchup–especially on grass–is also less than ideal for the youngster. Mayer’s eclectic game full of spins and slices will frustrate Zverev and force him to hit shots out of his strike zone. A slight upset may be in the cards, resulting in Mayer’s second-ever title.
Pick: Mayer in 3
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who ya got?
I loved the way the young Russian played this am vs Fed…..and Fed “could” have won both sets……I’ll take Zverv in straight.
Russian??????????
Well technically he’s not a Russian. though i guess this is a reasonable mistake. He has Russian background, a hairstyle that reminds of what Russians used to have on their heads twenty/thirty years ago and look the amount of gold he wears on his neck! Of course he has German citizenship, but his background and looks are straight Russian. Plus, his nickname Sascha it’s a Russian version of the name Alexander.
I’m so torn on this match. I could see it going any which way. I’m picking Zverev in three but when I first saw the results I was thinking Mayer might make more sense because the mental side of it. I dunno really but I do think it will be a very close match with lots of entertaining points and great atmosphere. My pick is Zverev in three but I think it could go either way. Don’t really know who I’m rooting for either. It’s an epic comeback from Mayer already after being out for like seven months due to injury and coming back with a protected ranking. Now he’s up to 125 in live rankings after starting the week at 193. Also if he wins he will rise to 80. And if Zverev wins it will be awesome too because it would be great to see him win his first title especially a 500 event at home. Also he’s up ten spots to a career high of 28 in love rankings and will rise to 24 if he wins tomorrow.
Live rankings*
I’m undecided on this one too. Mayer has impressed me enormously this week whereas Zev has had to work pretty hard to get to the final. His win against Federer will have boosted his confidence sky high but I’m inclined to think he will press too hard leading to a high UE count which could cost him the match. The greater experience of Mayer will be the deciding factor.
Mayer in 3
#Eeny meenie miney moe
Going for Mayer in three, i think experience will triumph over youth this time, just hope for some great tennis ….
Hopefully Murray over Raonic, urgh returning that booming serve, mind Murray is a great returning, so hopefully will be able to neutralize it ….
Woot! Zev minor saved 2 match points to even the 2nd set at 5-5. At least he made it exciting. Of course I was hoping he’d win a 500 title! But too much to ask…and Florian has been great this week.
Jmac annoys me, eww. Milos gets the 1st set. bah
Come on, Andy.
And Sascha… hehehe steals the 2nd set 😀
huge stuff
You cannot be serious! Johnny Mac is the greatest.
YEAH Andy! Vamos!
Ouch. Sascha couldn’t hold serve. Good effort this week to make the final. Congrats Florian.
EPIC
Mayer looked utterly spent after failing to serve out the match but he dug deep and got his second wind.
Little by little he is wearing Zev down. He deserves to win this match.
And he does on his 5th match point. Congratulations to a brave player.
Third set underway at Queens. No lapses in concentration please Andy.
Mayer caps off a dream run. Who knew? Awesome stuff from Florian. Allez!!