Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Men’s Olympic tennis final – Alexander Zverev v Karen Khachanov as it happened

ByPaul Hassall

Updated 01/08/2021 at 09:59 GMT

Alexander Zverev beat Karen Khachanov to win men's singles gold at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo. Zverev, the fourth seed, beat Novak Djokovic in the semi-final while Khachanov overcame the man who went on to take bronze, Pablo Carreño Busta. You want it? We have it. Stream every Olympic event live on discovery+.

TOKYO 2020 GOLD MEDAL WINNER – ALEXANDER ZVEREV OF GERMANY

Zverev wins gold

Image credit: Getty Images

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GAME, SET AND MATCH! – KHACHANOV 3-6 1-6 ZVEREV

It’s all over. A hefty overhead is too strong for Khachanov to get it back into play and Zverev lets out a roar of delight. He is the first German man to win a gold medal in tennis at the Olympics after a dominant win in one hour and 19 minutes. Khachanov takes silver.

GOLD MEDAL POINT

Zverev bites back from 0-30 and then wins a face-off at the net...

KHACHANOV 3-6 1-5 ZVEREV

Karen avoids the bagel. He already knows he will have to make do with the consolation of the silver medal but at least he is on the board with a hold to 30. Zverev has been sublime but Khachanov hasn’t been anywhere near his best either.

KHACHANOV 3-6 0-5 ZVEREV

Sascha is one game from gold. He motors through a love hold to back up the double break. This has been a quite brilliant display from the 24-year-old.

BREAK! – KHACHANOV 3-6 0-4 ZVEREV

That gold medal looks to be on its way to Germany. Zverev is quite simply relentless. He refuses to give Karen a glimmer of hope. A sublime lob keeps the heat on at deuce and when a chance for the double break pops up, he firmly locks in. The depth and power off his groundstrokes press the number 12 seed way back and another sizzling crosscourt backhand lures the forced error.

KHACHANOV 3-6 0-3 ZVEREV

The German has all the answers right now. Khachanov tries to pump himself up when he gets a look-in at 15-30 but Zverev is just so assured out there. He reels off a trio of confident points to back up his break. That scoreboard is looking very good for Germany at this juncture. Can Khachanov do anything to halt what feels like a Sascha charge to gold?

BREAK! – KHACHANOV 3-6 0-2 ZVEREV

Khachanov will be feeling utterly deflated. He finds his first forehand winner of the entire match as he manages to fend off double break point and make deuce. Zverev refuses to be denied though and wins another lengthy exchange on his third opportunity to strike early once more. He’s a set and a break to the good.

KHACHANOV 3-6 0-1 ZVEREV

This is sublime tennis from Zverev. He pummels a quite fabulous backhand winner down the line on the run to conclude a love hold in real style. The German screams ‘Ja!’ in delight and shows his opponent just how good he is feeling right now.

SET! – KHACHANOV 3-6 ZVEREV

Sascha scorches a stunning backhand winner with a charge to his left flank to snare a set point. Khachanov battles hard to try and pose the serve-out question but a pass down the line misses by a whisker to offer another opportunity. The ROC man then angles a volley wide and the number four seed has the first set inside 43 minutes.

KHACHANOV 3-5 ZVEREV

Khachanov is doing more damage in the rallies now but the Zverev serve once again works a treat in the tricky moments. It’s a hold to 30 and the number four seed is one game from taking this opener.

KHACHANOV 3-4 ZVEREV

‘Come on!’ is the roar from Karen as he digs deep to stay in touch. Zverev has an opening at 30-30 but hooks a crosscourt backhand attempt at a winner into the net. It’s a rueful moment for the German as he can’t quite keep the heat on and sizzles just long of the baseline.

KHACHANOV 2-4 ZVEREV

That’s clutch! Zverev misfires twice in quick succession and is pegged to deuce from 40-15 up. A brilliant rally ensues with Khachanov reaching an angled volley to pop a pick-up down the line. Zverev gets there but flashes his attempted pass into the tramlines to cough up a first break point. The German responds with some powerhouse serving to ease himself out of danger and maintain his first-set advantage.

Alexander Zverev secures the early break

Image credit: Getty Images

KHACHANOV 2-3 ZVEREV

The number 12 seed reminds everyone that it’s still early days here. He rips through Zverev’s defences by elevating the power on his forehand and keeps his opponent firmly at bay with an ace to finish off a hold to 30.

KHACHANOV 1-3 ZVEREV

Sascha is red-lining right now. He nails explosive winners off both flanks, shows a feather touch with a bewitching drop shot before consolidating with a hefty first serve that’s too hot to handle.

BREAK! - KHACHANOV 1-2 ZVEREV

Zverev unloads two bazooka-like forehands down each flank from to put Karen under the first bit of pressure of the match. The German scoops a backhand wide to briefly let his opponent off the hook but an error from the ROC athlete is followed by another blistering forehand that sets up the chance for Sascha to make the breakthrough with a polished smash.

KHACHANOV 1-1 ZVEREV

There’s no suggestion of an emotional lull from Zverev following his magnificent win over Djokovic. Instead, he’s brimming with confidence as he gallops through a love hold.

KHACHANOV 1-0 ZVEREV

It’s trademark big hitting from Khachanov. The serve purrs and the forehand has that explosive fizz that is so hard to deal with when he’s on song. He doesn’t look too troubled as he lands an ace to conclude an impressive opening game.

Here we go!

The players are on court, the coin toss has taken place and the warm-up is underway. This gold medal match is imminent and Khachanov will serve first.

Views from the baseline

Zverev: "It's an amazing feeling, knowing that you're going to bring the medal back to your house, back home to Germany. It's incredible beating the best player in the world undoubtedly right now, and in this season. It seemed it was impossible to beat him at this event, so I’m very happy right now. But there's still one match to go."

Khachanov on his semi-final win over Spain's Carreno Busta: "It was so important to win because at least you know for sure that you’re guaranteed a medal, which is one of the dreams come true. But obviously, you need to find motivation and excitement, and I will try to be prepared for the final and fight for the gold.”

Women's doubles result

The gold medal match in the women's doubles has recently concluded with Czech top seeds, Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova beating Switzerland's Belinda Bencic and Viktorija Golubic 7-5 6-1. The ceremony on the podium is just taking place with the teammates presenting each other with the medals.

Has Zverev got a secret weapon?

The German's brother, Mischa joked that a change of wristbands at a set and break down was the inspiration for him to go on and beat the Serbinator.

H2H

It’s two apiece in the match-up but Khachanov has won the last two meetings. Their most recent encounter was in the quarter finals of the Canada Masters in 2019 with the Russian winning 6-3 6-3.

Good morning!

Welcome to LIVE updates of the Tokyo 2020 Gold medal men’s singles match between Germany’s Alexander Zverev and ROC’s Karen Khachanov. Both players are guaranteed a medal with the Ariake Tennis Centre Court still reverberating with the shockwaves that saw red-hot favourite and world number one, Novak Djokovic end up empty-handed following his semi final collapse to Zverev. The players are due on court shortly.

Huge shock as Zverev dashes Djokovic's Golden Slam hopes to reach final

There was a huge shock as Alexander Zverev dashes world number one Novak Djokovic's Golden Slam hopes to reach the final of the men's singles at the Olympic Games. Watch every unmissable moment live from Tokyo 2020 across Eurosport, the Eurosport app and discovery+. Download the Eurosport app for iOS and Android now.

Huge shock as Zverev dashes Djokovic's Golden Slam hopes to reach final

'Wonderful moment' - Djokovic misses out on medal as Carreno Busta wins bronze

World number one Novak Djokovic misses out on a medal entirely as Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta wins bronze in their consolation match in Tokyo.

'Wonderful moment' - Djokovic misses out on medal as Carreno Busta wins bronze

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Watch every unmissable moment live from Tokyo 2020 across Eurosport, the Eurosport app and discovery+. Download the Eurosport app for iOS and Android now.

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