Alexander Zverev beat world number 3 and US open champion Stan Wawrinka at the St. Petersburg open 6-2, 3-6, 7-5. With the win, he become the first teenager to win an ATP title since Marion Cilic in 2006. In this article, we see some interesting facts about Zverev.
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1) Zverev hails from a proper Tennis family
Alexander Zverev Jr. was born on April 20, 1997, and stands tall at 6’6″. His father, Alexander Zverev Sr. was also a professional tennis player. He played in the Soviet Union before the family moved to Germany. His mother, Irena is also a tennis coach. His older brother Mischa, 28, is also a professional tennis player.
2) Former Junior World Number 1
Nicknamed Sascha, Zverev held No. 1 ranking in the junior circuit, won the Australian open boys title in 2014, and reached the French open boys final in 2013. He is also the youngest player since Bernard Tomic in 2009 to win a title in the challenger series, when he won the Sparkassen Open in Braunschweig. Like many others, he idolises Roger Federer.
3) He is comparable to the greats of the game
Zverev is currently ranked 24. He is the youngest player since Novak Djokovic in 2006 to be in the top 30. He is also the youngest quarterfinalist since Rafael Nadal in 2003 and is only behind Lleyton Hewitt and Roger Federer.
4) ATPs next generation campaign for Indian Wells Open
2016 has been a fruitful year for Alexnder. He was part of ATP’s next generation campaign for the Indian Wells open in march. At the tournament, he defeated Grigor Dimitrov and Gilles Simon before running in to Nadal. He took Nadal to the brink and even served for the match at 5-4 in the third set before Nadal pulled off a heist. After the match, Nadal said, “He is amazingly talented. He is clearly possible future no. 1. He has all the shots.” That’s quite the praise from a 14-time grand slam champion. He also reached the final of the Nice open and defeated Roger Federer on his way towards the finale at Halle open.
5) Flamboyant and Outgoing
Alexander is close friends with regular circuit players like Nick Kyrgios, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Borna Coric, Taylir Fritz and Andrew Rublev.
He has a flamboyant personality off court but is surely more focussed on the game than his counterpart Kyrgios!
The close knit group of young players would only ensure healthy competition and thus could do wonders for the world of Tennis, which is still looking for youngsters who can take the baton from the Top 4
