Alexander Zverev is now one win away from his first ATP Masters 1000 title since 2024 after reaching the final of the Madrid Open.
Zverev defeated Alexander Blockx in the semifinals to advance, overcoming the 21-year-old Belgian in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5.
The German had made the final four at the previous four Masters events, but was denied each time by his next opponent in Madrid: Jannik Sinner.
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He will be faced with Sinner for the 14th time in his career in the championship match, and will be looking to snap an eight-match losing streak against the Italian.
With his triumph over Blockx, Zverev has just made history by becoming the player with the joint-fourth most clay-court finals at ATP Masters 1000 events in history.
Alexander Zverev now only trails the big three in incredible statistic
Zverev will play in his seventh clay-court Masters final on Sunday, which is tied with Thomas Muster in fourth since the format’s inception in 1990, according to Opta Ace.
The only players with a greater tally than Zverev are each of the ‘big three’: Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Nadal leads the way with a record total of 33, followed by Djokovic on 19 and then Federer on 16.
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Zverev reached his first clay-court Masters final at the Italian Open in 2017, which he won by beating Djokovic.
The following year, he won the Madrid Open title and advanced to the final of the Italian Open once again.
In 2021, Zverev won the Madrid Open for a second time and he made the final in the Spanish capital in 2022.
His last clay-court final appearance came at the 2024 Italian Open, in which he came out on top.
Zverev has never made the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters, having only gone as far as the semifinals there.
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