Tokyo Olympics: Alexander Zverev wins gold after beating Karen Khachanov
Germany's Alexander Zverev, on Sunday, secured the gold medal after defeating Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-1 in the men's singles final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Zverev had earlier stunned top seed, Novak Djokovic, in the semi-final, denying the world number one a historic Golden Slam. Notably, the former dropped just one set throughout the Olympics. Here are further details.
Second German to win Olympic singles gold
Zverev became only the second German to win Olympic singles gold after Steffi Graf, who achieved the feat in the Seoul 1988 Olympics. Notably, Germany have also won Olympic gold with Boris Becker and Michael Stich in 1992 (doubles).
Zverev had defeated Djokovic to enter the final
On Friday, Zverev beat Djokovic to reach the final of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The German ended Djokovic's quest for a historic Golden Slam. Zverev's previous best run came in the 2020 US Open, where he was the runner-up. Meanwhile, Khachanov overcame Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta to claim his spot in the gold medal match. The 25-year-old leaves Tokyo with a silver medal.
Tokyo 2020 Olympics: A look at Zverev's run
Zverev downed Lu Yen-Hsun of the Chinese Taipei 6-1, 6-3 in the first round. He then beat Colombia's Daniel Galan 6-2, 6-2. In the third round, Zverev overcame Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 7-6. Zverev beat France's Jeremy Chardy in the quarters. The German won against the world number one, Djokovic, despite dropping a set. He has now claimed a historic gold by beating Khachanov.
Zverev is 27-11 in the season (ATP)
Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, Zverev lost the last 16 match to Felix Auger-Aliassime at Wimbledon. He was defeated by Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals of French Open. Zverev, who is 27-11 in the ongoing season, had won the Madrid Open by beating Matteo Berrettini in the final. He also won the 2021 Mexican Open, having outclassed Tsitsipas in the summit clash.
