Alexander Zverev and Roger Federer made it to Sunday’s final of the Rogers Cup in Montreal in contrasting fashion. The 20-year-old started off his week overcoming a tough opening round against Richard Gasquet in which he saved three match points to advance to the third round. On the other hand, the 36-year-old veteran looked to be in control throughout the tournament, despite facing a stern test against David Ferrer in the third round.
Tables were, however, turned in the final when the youngster amped up his aggressiveness to counter his much-experienced rival, ending his run of dominance with a 6-3, 6-4 win.
Along usual lines then, followers came out in droves in Twitter to applaud the youngster’s achievement even as there was some worrying about the 19-time Grand Slam champion’s injury.
Zverev: Is he the future, or the present?
Boris Becker, the last German to have won the Rogers Cup in 1986, acknowledged what has started to be understood this year. That Zverev isn’t just the future, he is also the present.
...And so said Federer to his winning rival. Incidentally, back in 2007, it was Novak Djokovic who had pipped Federer in Montreal to win the title. History, as they say, does repeat itself.
Speaking of Federer, while his performance remained shaky, it became obvious that he was dealing with an injured back. How serious is it? As of now, it’s for Federer to know and the rest of the world to wait to find out.
Despite Federer downplaying concerns, his loss did have some ramifications on the ranking and also on the seeding for the US Open.
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