ATP HalleWestfalen: Olympic champion Alexander Zverev agrees to start
Olympic champion Alexander Zverev wants to win his first title at the ATP Tour 500 tournament in HalleWestfalen: "It's one of my absolute favorite tournaments". A total of five top ten stars will be at the start at the 29th edition.
by p.m
last edit: May 18, 2022, 05:01 pm
Olympic champion Alexander Zverev wants to "gild" his seventh start at the TERRA WORTMANN OPEN with the longed-for cup triumph: "I finally want to win my first title in one of my absolute favorite tournaments on the tennis tour," said Germany's "Sportsman of the Year 2021" when announcing the field of participants for the 29th edition of the lawn classic in HalleWestfalen (June 11th to 19th, 2022). Zverev (25), who was the first German men's player to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo last summer, had already committed himself to the most important German competition for three more years last fall - up to and including 2024. "We are very happy especially for Sascha's return to Halle, to a tournament that he has been closely associated with since his earliest days as a professional player," said tournament director Ralf Weber. "However, the fight for the title will be a tough piece of work for him too."
In fact, the race for the winner's trophy at the prestigious ATP 500 event should be more exciting than ever before in the almost 30-year history of the tournament: because four other top ten stars are going into the lawn duels alongside "home player" Zverev - the second in the world rankings and reigning US Open champion Daniil Medvedev, Greece's ace Stefanos Tsitsipas (ATP 4), last year's finalist Andrey Rublev (ATP 7) and Canada's flagship crack Felix Auger-Aliassime (ATP 9). "Just in time for the return of the fans, we offer an absolutely world-class field. There will be unbelievably intense and thrilling matches from the first round onwards," explained tournament director Weber at the presentation of the field of players and the supporting program on Wednesday in Halle. "We definitely want to break the 100,000 viewer mark again."
Hurkacz and Kyrgios also there
Also behind the top ten elite are professionals at the start who can undoubtedly intervene in the title fight - for example the Italian Jannik Sinner (ATP 12), the Pole Hubert Hurkacz (ATP 13), the Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta (ATP 17) or his compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut (ATP 19). "Nine players from the top 20, that's a great sporting density, a guarantee of class. I believe that each of these players can have a say in the awarding of the trophy," says Tournament Director Weber. The first guest appearance by Australia's Nick Kyrgios (ATP 76) - a man who is able to beat every opponent in the world at the height of his ingenious tennis skills - also promises special tennis moments. “I'm looking forward to my debut in Halle. I've only heard good things about the atmosphere there and the passionate fans," says the 27-year-old, who had already reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon as a 19-year-old teenager. “Nick's world numbering position doesn't reflect his true class. Once he gets going, it's not easy to stop him," says tournament boss Weber.
Karen Khachanov (ATP 24), the Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili (ATP 25), the American Sebastian Korda (ATP 30), Serbian promoted Miomir Kecmanovic (ATP 31), the Chilean Cristian Garin (ATP 36) should belong to the group of dangerous outsiders. and last year's South African quarter-finalist Lloyd Harris (ATP 37) count. In addition, the attention of the tennis fans is of course also directed to the defending champion Ugo Humbert (ATP 45), who wants to find his way back to his old strength in Halle, the scene of his greatest career triumph to date. The appearance of Norway's shooting star and Munich winner Holger Rune (ATP 40) should also be interesting - he is currently the only teenager in the top 50 of the ATP world rankings alongside Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.
Muster and Haas in the "Champions Trophy"
Alexander Zverev is the only German professional who is directly represented in the main draw as of May 18th. However, tournament manager Ralf Weber hopes that the in-form Kempener Daniel Altmaier (ATP 50) will still slip into the main field, he is currently one of the first "alternates", i.e. the players who would take a place in the event of injuries or cancellations. Altmaier once again caused a sensation in tennis spring last week when he won the well-attended Challenger tournament in Heilbronn. The two-time French Open champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies, who have formed their trusted alliance again since the beginning of the season, have also confirmed their start - last year the duo temporarily went their separate ways due to Mies' protracted injury. Krawietz won the title in HalleWestfalen in 2021 alongside Romanian Horia Tecau.
Tennis nostalgia awaits the fans on Sunday, June 12, on Center Court – the “Champions Trophy” will feature doubles Tommy Haas/Younes El Aynaoui and Thomas Muster/Mansour Bahrami. Haas caused one of the biggest sensations in tournament history in 2012 with his final victory over Roger Federer and his second title win. “The return to Halle is associated with the best memories for me. It will certainly be an atmospheric performance in front of the great fans there," says Haas, who is now tournament director of the ATP Masters in Indian Wells, California. So far 7,000 tickets for the "Champions Trophy" have been sold, further tickets are available in advance.