MUNICH, March 2, 2016

The organizers of the BMW Open by FWU AG announced on Wednesday the participation of Alexander Zverev at this year’s edition, held at the MTTC Iphitos in Munich from 23 April to 1 May.

The only 18-year-old has improved his ATP ranking from number 809 to 58 within the last two years and is currently Germany’s second best tennis player. Zverev will join Germany’s number one Philipp Kohlschreiber at the ATP 250 event.

“I am looking forward to playing in Munich. The fans are fantastic and the atmosphere there is familiar but very professional,” told Zverev, who played in Bavaria’s capital for the first time in 2014, when he was granted a wild card.

“The BMW Open is one of the best tournaments in its category. You can see first round matches, which could elsewhere be a final,” he continued.

Zverev is Germany’s biggest tennis hope and has already achieved decent results this season. He reached the semi-final at the ATP 250 tournament in Montpellier as well as the stage of the final eight in Rotterdam, part of the ATP 500 series. He beat top 20-players like Gilles Simon and Marin Cilic and has already cracked the top 100 in the ATP rankings.

“Alex is on a good way in order to establish himself at the top. He is one of the biggest talents since Becker and Stich,” tournament director Patrik Kühnen said. Zverev will also celebrate his Davis Cup debut next weekend.

“We are very happy that Alex will come to Munich. The fans can look forward to his first singles matches on German soil this year,” organizer Michael Mronz added.

Zverev also joins Roberto Bautista-Agut, who already announced his participation for this year’s edition. “The mix between well established top-players and so called young guns will guarantee exciting matches,” Mronz said. “Munich is a place for future Grand Slam champions in Paris or Wimbledon.” 

Tickets are available via http://bmwopen.de/