Zverev upsets Djokovic to win first Masters 1000 event

Alexander Zverev has been on a big rise over the past year and finally broke through into an top class with a sweep of Novak Djokovic to win the Italian Open.

For a year now, Alexander Zverev has made his presence felt on the ATP World Tour, but in Rome, the 20-year-old announced himself as a major threat to all who will face him. Zverev had been on the cusp but finally won his first ATP Masters 1000 championship with a stunning sweep of Novak Djokovic in the finals of the Italian Open.

Zverev, who was ranked 17th in the world heading into the tournament, upset the No. 2 ranked Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 and while he won his first ATP Masters 1000 event, he also became the younger player to win one since Djokovic himself won the Miami Open in 2007.

Zverev never faced a break point in the match and lost only one two sets in the entire tournament on the red clay. Zverev rolled through Viktor Troicki and Fabio Fognini in the second and third rounds of the tournament, respectively, but sweeping No. 5 Milos Raonic in straight sets. The 20-year-old was pushed by John Isner in the semifinals but showed his resolve with a dominant to secure his spot in the finals.

Since winning the French Open last June, Djokovic has been battling injuries and has been suffering through what some have called a slump over the past year. He seemed to get everything back on track with his 6-1, 6-0 win over Dominic Thiem in the semifinals, but barely challenged his young German opponent in Rome. Zverev controlled the match from start to finish and earned the victory in one hour and 23 minutes.

Djokovic had been working without a designated coach since parting ways with his entire staff earlier in May. After the loss, Djokovic announced he has hired Andre Agassi has his new mentor.

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Corey Johns

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You could say Corey was born to become a sports journalist. His father won a national championship coaching college soccer. His mother is a baseball fanatic who hasn't missed seeing an Orioles game since 1983 (literally, sometimes it's annoying). His great uncle was a big-time boxing promoter and his maternal grandfather was once a department head at the Baltimore Sun. Basically, sports and journalism run through his blood. He played just about every little league sports there was when he was a kid and was a multi-sport athlete in high school; even playing in the first-ever high school sanction Rugby game in the country. Eventually he retired from sports as an undefeated Maryland state Rugby champion as a high school senior. Perhaps lack of athletic talent has more to do with the retirement, but he will tell you that it more had to do with a great desire to jump right into media. Upon his graduation from University of Maryland, Baltimore County as a triple communications major, Corey started the So Much Sports network and has continued to grow his websites and continues to work to make them premier sports media outlets.

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