The Japan Times - Sinner fights back against Zverev to claim 'special' Vienna crown

Sinner dropped his first set of the tournament before staging a comeback to see off Zverev 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to land the 22nd title of his career.

It is his second triumph in Vienna, where he also lifted the trophy in 2023, and extended his winning run on indoor hard courts to 21 matches going into next week's final Masters 1000 of the year in Paris.

But the top seed had to do it the hard way after falling behind as world number three Zverev, who had won four of seven previous meetings, secured the only break of the first set to take the upper hand.

"It was such a difficult start in this final for me," said Sinner.

"I went a break down, had some chances in the first set but couldn't use them. He was serving very well, but I just tried to stick there mentally and play my best tennis when it came."

Sinner replied though by racing 3-0 ahead in the second set as he forced a decider against the 2021 champion.

Zverev saved two break points in the fifth game of the third set but Sinner maintained the pressure despite battling a thigh issue in his first event since retiring with cramp at the Shanghai Masters.

Sinner created another opportunity at 5-all with a blistering backhand down the line and won a lengthy rally the following point to snatch the key break.

A routine hold wrapped up victory for the 24-year-old who has reached the final in eight of his 10 tournaments this season, with Sinner adding to his titles at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and Beijing.

"The third set was a bit of a rollercoaster, but I was feeling the ball very well at times, so I tried to push and I'm very happy of course to win another title," Sinner added.

"It's very special."

S.Suzuki--JT