Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
All the District 1 playoff brackets
All the District 1 playoff brackets for lacrosse, baseball, softball and volleyball.
ROME » Alexander Zverev signaled his anticipated arrival among the tennis elite by defeating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 Sunday to win the Italian Open.
The 20-year-old Zverev became the youngest player to win a Masters 1000 event since Djokovic won in Miami a decade ago at 19.
“It’s nice to know that I can compete and play and win the biggest tournaments on tour against the biggest players on tour,” Zverev said.
Zverev broke in the very first game and was never really challenged by Djokovic, who appeared drained after having to win two matches a day earlier to reach the final.
“He’s making his mark already,” Djokovic said. “Today winning one of the biggest tournaments — absolutely deserved. Played great, served great. On the other hand, he didn’t get much from my side. I played very poor today. Just couldn’t find any rhythm.”
Djokovic committed nearly twice as many unforced errors as Zverev — 27 to 14.
The match lasted 1 hour, 21 minutes.
Afterward, Djokovic announced that Andre Agassi will coach him at the French Open, which starts next Sunday.
“We are both excited to work together and see where it takes us,” Djokovic said. “We don’t have any long-term commitment. It’s just us trying to get to know each other in Paris a little bit.”
The title will move Zverev up to a career-high No. 10 in the rankings Monday and place him among the contenders for Roland Garros. It will also add credibility to the belief by many tennis experts that Zverev will reach No. 1 some day.
“If I have only half of the career Novak has had, I’ll be fine,” Zverev said when asked if he can follow in Djokovic’s footsteps.
Tennis great Rod Laver presented Zverev with the trophy.
“Getting the trophy from Mr. Laver is something very special and something I’ll remember for the rest of my career,” Zverev said.
Earlier, Elina Svitolina surged to No. 1 in the season-long rankings race by beating Simona Halep 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 in the women’s final.
It was a tour-best fourth title this year for Svitolina and the most prestigious trophy of her young career. The 22-year-old Ukrainian also leads the tour with 31 match wins this season.
Djokovic announces Agassi will coach him at French Open
ROME » Novak Djokovic is joining forces with Andre Agassi in an effort to return to No. 1.
Djokovic announced Sunday that Agassi will coach him at the French Open, which starts next Sunday.
“I spoke to Andre the last couple weeks on the phone, and we decided to get together in Paris,” Djokovic said. “So he’s going to be there. We’ll see what (the) future brings.
“We are both excited to work together and see where it takes us. We don’t have any long-term commitment. It’s just us trying to get to know each other in Paris a little bit,” Djokovic added. “He will not stay the whole tournament. He’s going to stay only to a certain time, and then we’ll see after that what’s going to happen.”
The second-ranked Djokovic split with longtime coach Marian Vajda and two other team members — fitness coach Gebhard Phil Gritsch, and physiotherapist Miljan Amanovic — at the start of the month.
Agassi, who retired in 2006, won eight Grand Slam titles.
Djokovic has won 12 Grand Slams.
“Andre is someone that I have tremendous respect for as a person and as a player,” Djokovic said. “He has been through everything that I’m going through. On the court he understands the game amazingly well. I am enjoying every conversation that I have with him.
“But also, on the other hand, he’s someone that nurtures the family values, philanthropy work. He’s a very humble man, is very educated. He’s a person that can contribute to my life on and off the court a lot. I’m very excited to see what is ahead of us.”