Alexander Zverev gifts himself birthday present by sinking Ben Shelton for third Munich title

Alexander Zverev can now call himself a three-time BMW Open champion, on his 28th birthday no less.

On Sunday, the world No. 3 lifted his first trophy of the year by brushing aside Ben Shelton in routine fashion to triumph on home soil.

Both competitors came into their latest meeting after surviving close calls earlier this week in Munich. Shelton saved three match points in his event debut against Borna Gojo, while Zverev broke back when Tallon Griekspoor served for their quarterfinal.

Zverev’s comfort on the surface ultimately shone through as he dismissed Shelton, 6-2, 6-4. The Hamburg native who has now won 29 of his past 30 matches against left-handers, celebrated his 24th career tour-level title. A quarter of those have occurred in Germany.

“It’s probably the most special thing I can do. It’s definitely a great birthday present, let’s put it that way,” Zverev said afterwards.

A double fault from Shelton in the deuce court handed the top seed a break to start the final. Zverev would run with the immediate advantage, producing a consistent rhythm on his serve and from the baseline to keep the pressure across the net.

Another long double fault at 15-40 from Shelton put the first set on Zverev’s racquet. After closing it out, last year's Roland Garros runner-up once again opened set two with a break when the second seed caught his forehand late.

Shelton hung around for the duration of the encounter, though could never challenge his opponent’s service games to give himself any hope of getting back in the contest. Reaching championship point, Zverev came forward and shut the door with a backhand volley winner. He did not face a break point throughout the afternoon, one that saw legendary football star Thomas Muller witness Zverev's triumphant day.