HAMBURG, December 7, 2016

2016 was the most successful season in the career of Alexander Zverev. The 19-year-old German won just four matches on the ATP World Tour in 2014, 14 in 2015, and 44 in 2016. Zverev captured his maiden title in St. Petersburg and is the best ranked NextGen player. He started the season ranked World No. 83 and finishes the year on 24th postition.

“Of course, I am very glad about my positive development in the ATP Rankings. I have always believed in me, but I couldn’t expect it,” Zverev told in an online interview with the German Tennis Federation this week. “A tennis season is always very long, so that anything can happen. I have worked a lot and I believe that after a lot of long practice days, you also gain confidence because you know exactly how much you do for it. “

Zverev has improved physically after he had started to work with Jez Green. Physio Hugo Gravil has recently joined his team. In the 2015 season, the teenager played just 5,166 points on tour. This amount more than doubled to 11,156 this season,

“I played a lot of matches this year with a couple of long and exhausting encounters. But: I really enjoy being on the court and playing against top players! The biggest challenges for the body are the permanent changes of the surfaces and the many journeys. That is why we always try to make the best possible decisions with the entire team in terms of training phases and tournament schedule,” Zverev said and added that the Grand Slams will be his top priority in 2017.

“I will also compete in Germany, as playing at home is still the best.” Zverev mentioned that he will also play the Davis Cup next year and he is confident that the team will achieve some positive results. Germany opens their World Group campaign against Belgium at home in Frankfurt from 3 to 5 February 2017.