Alexander Zverev reached the final for the first time in his native city of Hamburg. The 26-year-old Olympic champion defeated French talent Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-4 in the semi-finals of the tennis tournament at Rothenbaum on Saturday.
In the final on Sunday (3 p.m.), the former second in the world rankings meets the Serb Laslo Djere. “It was extremely fun today, the atmosphere was incredible,” said Zverev, who reached a final for the first time since his serious injury at the French Open last year: “There are few ATP tournaments in the world that I win more wants than Hamburg. It’s been so long since I’ve even been in a final. Tomorrow I want to show my best tennis.”
Tournament win for Zverev a “huge childhood dream”
Zverev had already reached the semi-finals in the Hanseatic city in 2014 and 2019, but then missed the final in each case. “Winning the tournament is a huge childhood dream of mine,” he said before the start. The 26-year-old played with determination against Fils, who was seven years his junior. The German number one quickly pulled away to 4:0 in the first set and showed a willingness to play.
Fils had defeated tournament favorite Casper Ruud from Norway in the quarterfinals, but could not embarrass Zverev. The last German tournament winner was Michael Stich in 1993.
Final opponent Djere with a strong performance against Zhizhen
Djere had previously defeated the Chinese Zhang Zhizhen 6:3, 6:2 in the first semifinal. The 28-year-old played well and his opponent couldn’t stop him. “I’ve won three matches here before, which gave me a lot of self-confidence,” explained the 28-year-old, who has won two ATP titles in his career so far. “I’ve been increasing my level throughout the tournament and getting better and better. That’s been the high point so far.”
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Hamburg Journal | 07/29/2023 | 19:30 o’clock