Alexander Zverev was imperious in dispatching Frenchman Ugo Humbert 6-2, 6-2 to win the Paris Masters on Sunday.

The third-seeded Zverev was in total control of the final to earn his seventh Masters 1000 title, his first in the French capital. The win also moved him past top-ranked Jannik Sinner for the most wins on the ATP tour this year, at 66.

Zverev’s big serve, excellent returns and great attacking shots did not take long to extinguish the hopes of the partisan crowd as Humbert never got into the match.

Humbert won’t have fond memories of his first Masters final. He tried to play aggressively from the start and to take all the risks to shorten rallies. But he could not find his range while Zverev defended extremely well.

The German quickly solved his rival’s serve and had his first break chance in the third game. He took it when Humbert sent a forehand into the net.

Humbert continued to make unforced errors. Trailing 1-3, he saved two break points but dropped his serve again when another shanked forehand sealed the game.

Zverev dropped just one point on his serve in the opening set and sealed it at love with an ace.

The 15th-seeded Humbert walked back to the locker room after the first set. The interlude didn’t change anything. The Frenchman double-faulted on his return to the court, continued to make poor tactical decisions and was immediately broken with a forehand into the net.

Another break gave Zverev a 3-0 lead as Humbert wasted a 40-0 lead and was never able to stage a comeback.

Zverev became the second German player to win in Paris after Boris Becker. He will overtake Carlos Alcaraz to move into second place in the new ATP rankings and will be a top contender at the ATP Finals gathering the top eight players of the season from November 10 to 17 in Turin, Italy.

“That was a performance to match the occasion,” Zverev said.”It was pretty good I have to say. I knew I had to play like this to win. Ugo is an incredible player. Plus him playing in Paris, I think he played even better than he usually does.

“I knew that once the crowd gets involved it would be very, very difficult. I had to take that away early. I did that and I’m happy about it.”

The Roland Garros runner-up broke first as he took the opener helped by a number of unforced errors by Humbert.

His performance was just as powerful in the second set as the 27-year-old went on to win the Paris Masters for the first time.

“I want to thank my team. The work we’ve done over the past two and a half years to be back in this position, everyone had to sacrifice so much. To be able to play on these beautiful courts again,” Zverev added.

“There was never a 100 per cent guarantee that I’d be back at this level after Roland Garros two years ago when I basically broke everything in my ankle that’s possible.

“To win the title here in Paris means the world to me but I’m sure it also means the world to everybody sitting in my box. They’ve done so much to help me lift this title.

On Saturday, Zverev defeated former champion Holger Rune 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)..

“I feel like I made it a little difficult for myself but he is a champion. It is probably his favourite tournament and favourite court, but I am happy to be in my second final here,” Zverev had said. “I am looking forward to it.”