King of the Jungle: Zverev roars past Auger-Aliassime for UTS2 Title

The UTS2 Men’s Final came down to a tense sudden death and Alexander Zverev emerged as “King of the Jungle” to claim the title.

Semifinal #1: The Lion (Alexander Zverev) def. The Tornado (Corentin Moutet) 3-1

Zverev’s strong debut yesterday certainly carried over into his first taste of final four action today against Moutet. After a poor serving performance during June’s Adria Tour, many questioned his ability to win this event for that reason alone. Zverev’s serve, however, was a pure weapon in today’s match. It was much too powerful and accurate for his opponent, despite a few great returns from Moutet at some points during the match.

A 17-12 opening quarter win was dominated by Zverev the entire way and was quickly followed up with a 10-2 third-quarter lead (he narrowly lost the second 12-10). His game was simply too much for The Tornado to handle. Zverev closed out the match 13-11 and advanced to the finals.

Moutet put on a good show at UTS2. He was arguably lucky to get into the semifinals to begin with due to Benoit Paire’s walkover (a different result would’ve likely seen Fernando Verdasco take Moutet’s spot instead) but nonetheless, he’s been a very solid player during both UTS go-arounds.

The big-serving German will have a tough task at his hands regardless of who he plays in the finals later today. Richard Gasquet has been on fire since the beginning of UTS1 (dating back to the beginning of the event in June). Auger-Aliassime took him the distance yesterday and could put in another good showing if he’s able to overcome Gasquet in the semifinals.

Semifinal #2: The Panther (Felix Auger-Aliassime) def. The Virtuoso (Richard Gasquet) 3-1

Gasquet was simply outplayed in this match and failed to reach the UTS finals for the second straight time. he started off strong, taking the first quarter 19-14, but from there, Auger-Aliassime turned his game up to 11 and absolutely dominated the undefeated Virtuoso throughout the final three sets.

Auger-Aliassime’s offensive firepower, from his serve to his groundstrokes, kept Gasquet on his back foot for the final three quarters. It started with a narrow yet comfortable 16-12 to even the match at 1-all. It seemed Gasquet still had a shot to take back control, but that was quickly lost by the tail end of the third quarter.

Leading 13-10, Aliassime used his “Winners Count X3” card with just over 2 minutes to play and aced Gasquet to take a 16-10 lead. The hotshot youngster would go on to take the quarter 20-11 and force Gasquet to make a miraculous comeback. Instead of that, Gasquet watched as ball after ball sailed past him in a vicious final quarter pouncing. Auger-Aliassime threw down a closing ace to take the final quarter 22-7 to move into the UTS2 finals.

After 3 matches in a row of pure domination, Gasquet came out extremely flat. He wasn’t anywhere near the form he’d been in the previous three days. Whether the intense heat played a role or not, it’s unknown, but regardless, he looked stiff and couldn’t place the ball nearly as well due to Auger-Aliassime immense power on the ground. Gasquet bows out in the semifinals for the second straight time after looking to be the presumptive favorite heading into today.

Auger-Alliassime played some of the best tennis of his young career over the last two days and capped it off with a devastating show of raw power in today’s match. He’ll face Alexander Zverev in the finals for a rematch of yesterday’s sudden death battle.

FINAL:

Zverev got off to a hot start just as he did yesterday, taking the first quarter 19-10 after a flurry of early groundstrokes gave him the early advantage. Auger-Aliassime battled back and took a 7-4 lead in the following quarter. He then utilized his “Winners X2 card” with four minutes to go and took full advantage.

After pushing Zverev out wide with a cross-court groundstroke, the youngster sent a skidding backhand volley back across the court that Zverev could only lob back. Auger-Aliassime smashed the overhead to take a 9-4 lead. He used his momentum to tie the match at one quarter apiece.

A tight third quarter was shaping the match to be a thriller. With Zverev up 8-6 with just under 4:30 to go, Auger-Aliassime used his “Opponent 3 Shots Max” Card (opposing player must win the point in a maximum of three shots) to get himself back into the race. He would go on to win 8 of the final 10 points in the quarter, capping it off with a rocket forehand return to give him the 2-1 lead going into the final period.

Zverev wasn’t out yet, however. He powered into an 18-8 final quarter victory to send the match into sudden death. Although Aliassime controlled the first half of the match, it was Zverev who finished with the UTS2 title, winning the match after an Aliassime backhand found the net.

UTS2 Men’s Final: Final thoughts and predictions

Given the shortened campaign of UTS2 in comparison to UTS1, it certainly had a rushed feel to it as a whole. The overall level of play, however, seemed higher and the event was ultimately more competitive. I personally would’ve loved to see Zverev and Aliassime participate in the first two days as well; it would’ve given the other players more of a fighting chance instead of guaranteeing two spots in the semifinals.

However, the choice to do so was correct. Both finalists were two of the best players this weekend and proved that in both of their matches. Another UTS event with more of the ATP’s best could be a great fit in October due to the fact that the China-based tournaments will not be held this year. It’s a far-fetched idea but an Olympic-style event with the ATP’s top stars could be a very exciting, albeit impractical idea.

The ATP returns August 20th for the Western & Southern Open and will be held in the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (home of the US Open).