ATP Munich: Alexander Zverev "wants the third title"
Alexander Zverev goes to his home tournament in Munich as a top favorite. The German would like to live up to this role of favorites at the ATP 250 event.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Apr 25, 2021, 06:42 pm
A close connection to home is very important to Alexander Zverev. You not only notice that in the last interviews, in which the German number one always emphasized the importance of his home country, you also notice it in the tournament schedule of the world number six. Instead of indulging in a week of preparation time for the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid, as many players do, Zverev will serve in Munich, the capital of Bavaria.
There, the 2018 ATP Finals champion is also going into the race as a top favorite, wearing the number one spot in the draw. A favorite role, which the native of Hamburg wants to live up to, as Zverev emphasized in an interview with Bild: "Munich is generally a special place for me. I won my first title in Germany here. I won again the following year. Well I want my third win and I hope that I can play good tennis. "
Ruud is number two in the draw
Meanwhile, the Norwegian clay court specialist Casper Ruud will enter the race as number two, number three is Aslan Karatsev. A strong line-up for a 250cc Turinier, as also emphasized by Zverev: "The field here is always very strong for this category. All of the top German players are there," said the 24-year-old. "It's going to be a great week."
At least one competitor fell out of the tournament at short notice, namely the Barcelona semi-finalist Jannik Sinner, who canceled his start at short notice. For the 19-year-old Italian, Zverev has nothing but respect: "I have always said that he comes up quickly. He is now in a phase where I was 19 or 20 years old. He is very talented and developing rapidly. "
Sinner with potential to become number one
For Zverev, the South Tyrolean is even a potential number 1 candidate, although it's not only a long but also a rocky road up to that point: "He has the potential, but it's a long way to get there. He'll also have a few matches he shouldn't lose, but he gets through there, that's normal and part of it. That's how it was for me in 2019 too. In general, the best players all went through such a phase. I have a lot of respect for him. "