Double-duty teenager claims Montpellier title

The New York Times 23:22 - 12 February 2017

Alexander Zverev returns the ball to Richard Gasquet in Montpellier, southern France, on February 12, 2017

Zverev teamed up with older brother Mischa to claim the doubles title.

Highly-touted German teenager Alexander Zverev defeated home favourite Richard Gasquet 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 in Montpellier on Sunday to land his second career ATP title.

Third seed Gasquet had lifted the trophy in Montpellier the past two years but was denied a third title in a row by 19-year-old Zverev.

"I'm very happy to win my first title of the year," said Zverev.

"Obviously it was a very tough tournament, only one straight-sets match in the whole tournament, today, and it was not an easy one. I think it was a high-level match and I'm happy to get the win."

Later Sunday, Zverev teamed up with older brother Mischa to claim the doubles title, seeing off Fabrice Martin and Daniel Nestor 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 10-7.

"It's great to win singles and doubles. I'm very happy the way we played. We only dropped one set in the tournament. I think it was a very successful tournament for the Zverevs," added the teenager.

Zverev won his first title in St Petersburg last September, beating US Open champion Stan Wawrinka in the final.