ALEXANDER Zverev has added another piece of silverware to his collection with his maiden 2020 title victory at the ATP 250 tournament in Cologne, Germany, defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3 6-3 on home soil. The German top seed – ranked seventh in the world – who now holds a 3-0 winning record against the 20-year-old Canadian, was dominant throughout, patiently overcoming Auger-Aliassime who is now 0-6 in ATP Tour finals.

Zverev took just 79 minutes to dispose of Auger-Aliassime, using his excellent serve to his advantage and was efficient as he did so, winning 80 per cent of points off his first serve compared to just 59 per cent for Auger-Aliassime. While he was not quite as clinical on the return, Zverev made the most of Auger-Aliassime’s struggles on-serve to win off 45 per cent of his return points, and forced errors from the Canadian.

“It was a good match. [In] the final I played my best tennis, as you should do in a final,” Zverev said post-match. “The week in general was very positive for me. “Being back in Germany after over a year was very nice for me.”

Zverev lost just one set on his way to his first title victory in 17 months, overcoming Fernando Verdasco, Lloyd Harris and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on his way to the the final against Auger Aliassime, with just Harris able to steal a set in the quarter finals though Davidovich Fokina was a tough hurdle.

While Auger-Aliassime was hyper-critical of his own game, saying post match that “(he) just played bad from start to finish”, Zverev commended his game, confident that the Canadian will clinch the silverware.

“Felix, you’re an unbelievable player. I know it doesn’t mean much right now, but I’m sure you are not only going to win one title, you’re going to win multiple, multiple titles in your career, bigger titles than this,” Zverev said. “We know each other incredibly well… you’re going to be lifting a winner’s trophy very soon.”