Alexander Zverev defeated Nicolás Jarry in Rome to win his second Italian Open title. The German first lifted the trophy in the Italian capital in 2017 and repeated that thanks to a 6-4, 7-5 victory over an opponent who was an unexpected finalist.
The Chilean dug deep to try to force a decider, saving three match points, but Zverev – who lost only five points on serve all afternoon – finally forced a decisive error, sinking to the clay in delight.
It is a sixth title at Masters 1000 level for the German, who will overtake Daniil Medvedev as world No 4 on Monday, and a first since before the serious ankle injury he suffered at the French Open two years ago.
“It means a lot,” said Zverev. “Obviously winning my first [Masters] title in Rome and winning my first after the injury, Rome is a very special place for me. A very, very special week.”
Zverev will now turn his attentions to the French Open, which begins next Sunday. He heads to Paris as one of the favourites for what appears one of the most open men’s grand slam tournaments in years. With neither Novak Djokovic nor Rafael Nadal in good form and Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner battling injuries, the path could be open for a host of possible contenders.
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Emma Raducanu will concentrate on training for the grass- and hard-court seasons after withdrawing from French Open qualifying.
The 21-year-old had been expected to try to fight her way through three rounds of qualifying at Roland Garros, as she famously did on her way to the US Open title in 2021. But Raducanu has pulled out of the preliminaries, saying in a statement: “It’s important for me to keep laying on the foundations and I will use the time to do a healthy block before the grass and subsequent hard-court seasons to give myself a chance to keep fit for the rest of the year.”
Raducanu entered the tournament using her protected ranking of 103, but she remains three spots outside the main draw and she was overlooked for a wildcard.
She made a flying start to the clay-court season, beating the French duo Caroline Garcia and Diane Parry to lead Britain into the Billie Jean King Cup Finals and then reaching the quarter-finals of the WTA event in Stuttgart. Raducanu pushed Iga Swiatek, who on Saturday won the Italian Open, in a last-eight loss but then put in a lacklustre performance against the Argentinian qualifier María Lourdes Carlé in the opening round of the Madrid Open last month, citing exhaustion.
She has not played a match since, pulling out of this past week’s WTA event in Strasbourg, and this latest withdrawal comes as a big surprise. The first main event of the grass-court season is the Rothesay Open in Nottingham beginning on 10 June, although Raducanu could enter the second-tier tournament in Surbiton the week before.