MUNICH, May 1, 2018

Red carpet, cool music, good conversation and lots of fun – that’s the traditional Players’ Night of the BMW Open by FWU. Tennis professionals, celebrities and guests were invited to the Golden Racket Club by Käfer on Monday and celebrated the start of the tournament week at the MTTC Iphitos until late into the night.

Zverev was honored with the “Iphitos Award”, presented by German tennis legend Boris Becker, who received the award for his life’s work exactly one year ago.

“I have been waiting for many years to receive this prize,” said Becker, “and you’ll get it at the age of 21. Why? You have already sprinted to third place in the world rankings. You are always highly focused and motivated. For many people, me included, you are the best young player of the new generation.”

And Alexander Zverev? He had a broad grin on his face: “It’s a great honor for me to accept this award from you,” the 21-year-old said. “You did not get the trophy until the age of 49, I already did it with 21. However, I did not win the in Wimbledon at the age of 17. I am following in very big footsteps and hope that this will not be the last trophy I will get this week.”

A year after Zverev clinched his first clay-court ATP World Tour title at the BMW Open, he returns to Munich to defend his trophy. The World No. 3 will look to complete his first title defence against a strong field in his native Germany, opening his campaign on Wednesday against wild card entry Yannick Hanfmann.