Alexander Zverev who earlier on in the Washington Citi Open swept his older brother Mischa aside in two sets came one step closer to recapturing the Citi Open title by tearing through Greece's young tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas in a show of sheer dominance.

Tsitsipas who surprisingly beat a surging David Goffin 2 sets to love in the previous round put up a noble fight against Zverev in the second set but the young German's quality shone through against the young Greek's efforts. Tsitsipas only turned professional in 2016 but surprised everyone earlier this year when he reached the final at Barcelona beating Dominic Thiem and Pablo Carreno Busta along the way. He was destroyed in inevitable fashion by Nadal in the final.

The Youngest Guns on Tour

Zverev and Tsitsipas are the youngest players on tour in the top 50 of the men's atp rankings. Zverev is still only 21 years of age but has already won 3 ATP Masters Titles, 8 ATP titles in total, an incredible tally at such as young age. It is only a matter of time before he gets a chance at winning his first Grand Slam title. I have to say I am very disappointed that Murray had to pull out of the tournament earlier on due to fatigue because I think Murray vs Zverev would have made an excellent final for Washington tennis fans.

Zverev's Destructive First Set

Zverev absolutely destroyed Tsitsipas in the first set putting on an impressive display of brute force hitting off his fore and back hand. He literally smothered any attempt by the Greek to exert his will onto the game looking seemingly unplayable at times . I lost count of how many clean winners the German hit. He even managed to come into the net to finish a fair few points off well - this area of his game he will have to refine more if he wants a chance of winning a Grand Slam.

Tsitsipas's Acrobatic Antics Whilst Impressive Couldn't Save Him From Defeat

In the second set it was on serve until the final service game by the Tsitsipas who simply struggled to get over the line. Zverev broke before comfortably holding for a win that see's him go into the final for the second year running. He now faces another 19 year old today - Alex De Minaur. The Australian is a bit of an unknown entity coming into the main circuit from the Challenger tour where he won a title back in June. It's good to see a few young players making head way early in their careers but this one is going to be a Zverev victory in two straight sets.

A Versatile Giant

I find Zverev a bit of an anomaly compared to all over players his height. He is 6ft 6 inches tall but remarkably manages to defend and move around the back of the court with great mobility and pace. If we compare him players of equal height such as Del Potro and Marin Cilic you soon realise how different and special he is for such a big player. He can hang in on tough points for a far greater time than the two latter players without looking tired and spent of energy. You just have to appreciate how many points he outlasted Nishikori for in the previous round. Nishikori  is one of the quickest players on tour but he looked second best against Zverev on many of their base line rallies.

Eager to Capitalise on his Favourite Surface

Coming out of a terrible grass court season Zverev will be eager to add to this years title tally with a strong hard court season so the Citi Open is an important win for him to act as a spring board going into the Rogers Cup and Cincinnati. Zverev will get a bye in the first round of the Rogers cup and should rankings dictate the state of play, he will see Nadal in the final. Nadal beat Zverev earlier this season in the Rome Masters final on Clay but Zverev managed to win a set against the clay court specialist. On a hard court surface he will stand a much greater chance of downing the Spanish Bull.

A Potential Banana Skin for Any of the Big Four

Zverev will not be an easy opponent for any of the big four to overcome in Cincinnati. He has already beaten Federer, Nadal and Djokovic before in his career with Murray being the only player he has yet to claim a win against. On a hard court he has the chance of winning against any of these four considering his form both this year and last. I wouldn't quiet say he's a good outside bet to win Cincinnati yet but I would say he is worth a flutter to win the Rogers Cup which starts tomorrow.