He was in a good mood when he strolled through the club’s grounds on the Alster on Monday. Alexander Zverev is back at his home tournament at Rothenbaum after four years and will start this Tuesday with the first round match against Alex Molcan (25/118th in the ATP world rankings). The 26-year-old wants to reflect on the virtues of children.
It is something special to open in his hometown, Zverev makes no secret of that. As a little boy, he got his first autograph here from his idol Roger Federer (41). “I asked him in English, I was particularly proud of it,” Zverev recalls. “I’ll still have that somewhere.”
Alexander Zverev sees himself as one of the favourites
16 years later, he wants to take care of the big moments on the red ashes himself. “I think,” said Zverev, “that if I’m healthy and survive the first round, then I’ll be one of the favorites – I’m happy to accept that.”
He knows his opening opponent, the left-hander Molcan, very well – he beat the Slovakian in his last two clay court tournaments in Bastad and at the French Open. “Let’s see,” said Zverev. “He is a very difficult opponent for the first round, someone who can play well on this surface. We both know how to do it now.” For this, the 2021 Olympic champion wants to rely on the origin of his drive: “At the end of the day we start because it was a childhood dream to become a professional. The little kid needs to get out a bit.”
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Zverev only lost his mood on one topic. Regarding his ex-girlfriend’s allegations of violence, he said: “I completely reject the allegations. My lawyers will take care of the matter.”
2023-07-25 08:10:53
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