Zverev Withdraws from Stuttgart Due to Injury, Focusing on Wimbledon Preparation

He originally planned to start next week in Stuttgart. “Yes, Stuttgart was in the plan, but my body is also important,” said the 26-year-old Olympic champion from Tokyo after the Paris semifinals. In the end, he gave up participation in Stuttgart and will only play the tournament in Halle as part of his preparation for Wimbledon.

Zverev caused a tear in his thigh muscle during training and was limited by the injury in the semifinals. “I had a minor problem and against him (Ruud) you have to run and fight a lot. And I couldn’t do that at all. I couldn’t really lean into the serve either. But that’s how it goes,” he said.

However, he did not want to reduce Ruud’s performance by his problems, according to him, the opponent fully deserved the promotion. “Of course, I would really like to play the final here. I saw a great opportunity. But he was much, much better than me today. And that’s why the result was the way it was,” Zverev stated.