Alexander Zverev is smiling in the Caja Mágica once again. The talented German player repeated his 2018 victory with a masterclass of tennis against surprise package Matteo Berrettini. The world No. 6 took the spoils on the Madrid clay for the second time in his career. There are many roads to victory, but Alexander seems to like taking route one. In 2018, he did not drop a single set in the tournament and this year only one was taken from him all week.

The younger of the Zverev brothers now has four Masters 1000s to his name (Madrid x2, Montreal and Rome) and has established himself as one of the players who will define an era in a sport where equality rules at every event. The ATP Finals champion joins the Big Four at this tournament, equalling Andy Murray’s two triumphs. He is also now a member of the select club of players who have donned the crown on clay in the Spanish capital on more than one occasion, together with Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

At 24 years of age, the Hamburg native has picked up 15 titles since arriving on the professional tour and is just one Masters 1000 behind legends of the game such as Marat Safin, Andy Roddick and Jim Courier. The German has become something of a specialist on the red dust with 80 wins in 115 matches, a spectacular return of 69.5%. Although his greatest achievements have come on hard court, Alexander Zverev boasts the sixth highest win rate of current players on clay.

The player who was first to wrestle the Madrid title from the hands of the four biggest names on tour had already shown clues of his prowess on clay. His first professional victory was in Hamburg and he made history at the same tournament by reaching the semi-finals as a 17 year old, the youngest player to do so. Now, with the maturity and quality of his game, the German claimed a title that he has won twice in the last three editions. Without a doubt, next year he will be back in the Caja Mágica with the hunger he is known for, bidding to try and make it three of a kind.