The 28th NOVENTI OPEN will receive more outstanding and top-notch reinforcements: the current French Open semi-finalist and fifth in the world rankings, Stefanos Tsitsipas, will participate in the most important ATP competition in Germany with an “A + Wild Card” and, hence for the second time after 2018 for the coveted Champions Cup to enter the race.
“That’s a real hammer, right before the first rallies,” says tournament director Ralf Weber. “For the first time in the history of the tournament, there are now five players in the top ten. They will be absolute tennis festivals ”.
The 22-year-old Greek receives this wild card, which can be assigned to a selected group of players at ATP 500 tournaments “at the last minute,” according to Weber. “We have had intensive contact for a long time, Sooner or later, Tsitsipas, one of the charismatic superstars of the ATP-NextGen, could once again face well-known Parisian opponents.
The 2019 ATP world champion had won in the quarterfinals of the French Grand Slam against Medvedev and therefore qualified for the eighth personal duel with 24-year-old Zverev. “I am looking forward to starting in Halle.
In this strong field, it will be a really exciting fight for the title, ”says Tsitsipas. Born in Athens, he made his debut in the ATP 500 turf event in 2018 and reached the knockout stages here.
After his first round win over Frenchman Lucas Pouille, he was defeated by American Denis Kudla. Thanks to an equally strong season after the French Open, Tsitsipas will advance to a new personal record and displace Austrian Dominic Thiem from fourth place in the ATP world rankings.
The 22-year-old won the Masters tournament in Monte Carlo in 2021 and, more recently, the competition in Lyon. At the Australian Open earlier in the year, Tsitsipas reached the semi-finals and then failed to Medvedev, having previously defeated Rafael Nadal in a spectacular five-set thriller in the round of 16.
Other great results of the young Greek were the finals in Acapulco (against Zverev) and in Barcelona (against Nadal). Before the French Open, Tsitsipas was even number one in the annual ranking, ahead of Novak Djokovic.
In addition to Tsitsipas, who is still fighting for a place in the Roland Garros final against Alexander Zverev on Friday afternoon, Daniil Medvedev (Russia / ATP 2/2020 ATP Tour Final winner), Germany’s best player “Sascha” Zverev (ATP 6), record champion Roger Federer (Switzerland / ATP 8) and Andrey Rublev (Russia / ATP 7) registered.
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