Zverev adds Cincy Masters to Olympic gold, Barty wins

CINCINNATI: Alexander Zverev backed up his Olympic triumph with a fifth ATP Masters 1000 title as he crushed Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-3 in Cincinnati on Sunday.

The German needed less than an hour against his longtime childhood friend and rival to lift the trophy and put himself into a solid position with the US Open starting a week from Monday. “The US Open starts in a week’s time, so obviously I want to keep it up and I want to maybe play even better there,” Zverev said.

Women’s world number one Ashleigh Barty was similarly impressive in winning her fifth title of the season at the combined ATP and WTA event, cruising past Swiss wild card Jil Teichmann 6-3, 6-1.

The Australian, who will keep a firm grip on the number one ranking as the final Grand Slam of the year approaches, took control mid-way through the opening set and was never truly threatened.

“It’s been an awesome week, with each match it was getting progressively better,” Barty said. “Today I was able to trust myself and play with confidence, which was important in a big final. “I’m excited to get matches in tough conditions here in Cincy going into New York.”

Zverev showed no effects from the stomach discomfort which forced him to take a medical timeout during his draining semi-final victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday. Zverev won his 11th match in a row and his fifth against Rublev, a player he’s been playing since their junior days.