Alexander Zverev was supposed to be the attraction at the grass tournament in Stuttgart. But like last year, the best German tennis player has canceled.
Germany’s best tennis player Alexander Zverev has, as expected, cancelled his start in Stuttgart this week. The tournament organisers announced this two days after the Hamburg native lost the French Open final.
“I have played a lot of tennis in the last few weeks and reached the final in Paris, where I played five difficult sets. I feel that my body is not ready to go from clay to grass now,” the world number four said in the organizers’ statement explaining his cancellation.
Tournament loses the number one seed
Zverev was the top seed at the start of the grass season at the Weissenhof and was due to start the tournament in the round of 16 on Thursday. But after the final in Paris, which he lost to the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, it was already clear that Zverev would not compete in the capital of Baden-Württemberg. “The chances of me playing in Stuttgart are just as high as the chances of me going out again and winning the final,” he said on Sunday.
Last year, the German number one had already cancelled his participation in the Stuttgart event at short notice; at that time he had sustained a thigh injury in the semi-finals of Roland Garros.
“To a certain extent understandable”
The organizers regret the cancellation. However, the renewed decision to forego the tournament is “understandable to a certain extent,” said tournament director Edwin Weindorfer. “We have fought extremely hard over the past two days to ensure that he enters the tournament on Thursday as planned,” said the organizer. “We assume that we will be able to welcome Alexander Zverev to Stuttgart next year in accordance with our multi-year agreement.”
Grass start in Halle
Zverev will most likely begin his preparation for the Grand Slam classic in Wimbledon (July 1-14) next week in Halle, Westphalia. The organizers announced his attendance again on Tuesday. In Stuttgart, French veteran Richard Gasquet will take Zverev’s place in the main draw.
Source: Stern
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