Jannik Sinner fought back from a set down to claim his fourth title of the season with victory over Alexander Zverev in the Vienna Open final.
The top seed, who has currently won 21 matches on indoor hard courts, battled early hamstring cramps to seal the 3-6 6-3 7-5 victory in just under two and a half hours.
It is Sinner’s second title of the month after winning the China Open in early October, while he also added to his Grand Slam title earlier this year with victories at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
“It feels great,” Sinner said after winning his 22nd Tour-level title. “It was such a tough start for me. I tried to hang in there mentally and play my best tennis when it counted.
“It was such a special week. It is always the highlight of my agenda to come and play here in Vienna.”
Sunday’s final was the first meeting between the pair since Sinner defeated Zverev in straight sets in the Melbourne final in January.
However, Zverev, the 2021 Vienna Open champion, appeared to be in a strong position in the final after taking a double break lead at 4-1 in the first set. From then on, all the German had to do was hold serve to end the first set 6-3 in 46 minutes.
But Sinner dug deep and seemed reinvigorated in the second set, playing a number of well-placed winners to hold serve twice and break serve, creating a 3-0 lead.
The rest of the second set was relatively easy for the world number two, but he and Zverev went head-to-head in the deciding set before Sinner broke serve at 5-5.
From there he opened three championship points before Zverev scored a simple backhand into the net.
“I would like to congratulate Jannik Sinner, whose level has been off the charts for the past two years,” said world number three Zverev.
“For me he is the best player in the world at the moment. This week he was simply the best player in Vienna.”
Earlier, Great Britain’s Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool secured their seventh Tour title of the season with a 6-1 7-6 (8-6) victory over Austria’s Lucas Miedler and Portugal’s Francisco Cabral.
The British needed just 70 minutes to claim their first title since winning the Canadian Open on August 7.
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