Zverev routs Khachanov to win Olympic gold

TOKYO: Alexander Zverev said that “nothing is bigger” than winning an Olympic gold medal after brushing aside Karen Khachanov to take the men’s singles title in Tokyo on Sunday.

The fourth seed, who ended Novak Djokovic’s Golden Grand Slam bid in the semi-finals, produced a dominant display to win 6-3, 6-1 after just 79 minutes at the Ariake Tennis Park.

“There is nothing better than this,” said Zverev, who fell to the ground in celebration after clinching the win.

The world number five becomes only the second German to win an Olympic singles gold after Steffi Graf in 1988, while Boris Becker and Michael Stich took the men’s doubles crown four years later.

Zverev is still waiting for a maiden Grand Slam title after several near misses, including when he blew a two-set lead to lose to Dominic Thiem in last year’s US Open final.

“To be honest, I don’t want to talk about the next Grand Slam right now,” he said when asked if his Olympic success could help him go one better at Flushing Meadows at the end of this month.

“I just won the Olympic Games and I think there’s nothing bigger than winning the Olympic Games.”

Medals Table

Country Gold Silver Bronze Total

Country Gold Silver Bronze Total

China 24 14 13 51

United States 20 23 16 59

Japan 17 5 9 31

Australia 14 3 14 31

Russian Olympic Committee 12 19 13 44

Great Britain 10 10 12 32

France 5 10 6 21

South Korea 5 4 8 17

Italy 4 8 15 27

Netherlands 4 7 6 17

Germany 4 4 11 19

New Zealand 4 3 4 11

Czech Republic 4 3 1 8

Canada 3 4 7 14

Switzerland 3 4 5 12

Croatia 3 2 2 7

Taiwan 2 4 4 10

Brazil 2 3 5 10

Hungary 2 2 2 6

Slovenia 2 1 1 4

Ecuador 2 0 0 2

Kosovo 2 0 0 2

Qatar 2 0 0 2

Spain 1 3 3 7

Georgia 1 3 1 5

Romania 1 3 0 4

Sweden 1 3 0 4

Venezuela 1 3 0 4

Hong Kong 1 2 0 3

Slovakia 1 2 0 3

South Africa 1 2 0 3

Austria 1 1 3 5

Denmark 1 1 2 4

Serbia 1 1 2 4

Belgium 1 1 1 3

Jamaica 1 1 1 3

Norway 1 1 1 3

Poland 1 1 0 2

Tunisia 1 1 0 2

Ireland 1 0 2 3

Israel 1 0 2 3

Turkey 1 0 2 3

Belarus 1 0 1 2

Estonia 1 0 1 2

Fiji 1 0 1 2

Uzbekistan 1 0 1 2

Bermuda 1 0 0 1

Ethiopia 1 0 0 1

Greece 1 0 0 1

Iran 1 0 0 1

Latvia 1 0 0 1

Philippines 1 0 0 1

Thailand 1 0 0 1

Colombia 0 2 1 3

Dominican Republic 0 2 0 2

Ukraine 0 1 5 6

Indonesia 0 1 2 3

Mongolia 0 1 2 3

Cuba 0 1 1 2

India 0 1 1 2

Portugal 0 1 1 2

San Marino 0 1 1 2

Uganda 0 1 1 2

Bulgaria 0 1 0 1

Jordan 0 1 0 1

North Macedonia 0 1 0 1

Turkmenistan 0 1 0 1

Kazakhstan 0 0 3 3

Mexico 0 0 3 3

Azerbaijan 0 0 2 2

Egypt 0 0 2 2

Argentina 0 0 1 1

Finland 0 0 1 1

Ivory Coast 0 0 1 1

Kuwait 0 0 1 1

Malaysia 0 0 1 1