HALLE/WESTPHALIA, June 9, 2023 (Press Release)

Alexander Zverev is getting back to his best tennis. The 26-year-old German faced a tough road back from a gruesome ankle injury he suffered in the 2022 semi-finals at Roland Garros against Rafael Nadal, which sidelined him from the courts and he also missed last year’s TERRA WORTMANN OPEN.

Today, Zverev is back in the semis at the French Open and will take on Casper Ruud for a spot in the Roland Garros singles final. After the clay-court season and a stop at the Weissenhof tournament in Stuttgart, the former World No. 2 will also return to Halle in East Westphalia from June 17 to 25, getting ready for The Championships at Wimbledon.

In an interview with the TERRA WORTMANN OPEN, he speaks about his special relationship with the ATP 500 grass-court event.

Terra Wortmann Open: The ATP event in Halle celebrates its 30th birthday this year. What memories do you associate with the tournament?

Alexander Zverev: My first memory is of my brother Mischa winning the doubles title with Mikhail Youzhny in 2007. That was when I was there for the first time. I still remember taking a photo with Roger Federer, which hung as a huge poster above my bed in my children’s room in Hamburg for a long time.

You reached two Halle finals early in your career, one against Roger Federer. How was the experience like facing the record champion?

I played Federer twice in Halle. The 2016 semi-final was my very first top 10 win, a wonderful experience that I remember fondly. Then in 2017 in the final he beat me in straight sets (6-1, 6-3). So 2016 was definitely the better experience for me (laughs).

What is the special attraction of the tournament, between the Grand Slams in Paris and Wimbledon?

Halle offers simply the perfect preparation. Many great champions – first and foremost, of course, Roger Federer – have played the Terra Wortmann Open for years and then done well at Wimbledon. As you know, there is not that much time between the French Open and Wimbledon, so Halle takes place at the right time and is a pleasant preparations for the players.

The grass court season is a special challenge for the pros – with the quick change from clay to grass? How difficult is it for you to adapt to a new surface? What is the biggest challenge with grass-court tennis in general?

Grass-court tennis is very different from all other surfaces. We players are hardly used to playing on grass. It’s simply not a surface you’ve practiced on since childhood, so you basically have to learn grass tennis anew every year. But I love playing on grass, even though I haven’t had the success I’ve had on clay or hard court. Grass-court tennis is just a big part of the history of our sport.

When the tournament started, there was a lot of skepticism about the grass-court tennis experiment in Germany. How do you rate what has been created in Halle?

After Wimbledon, Halle is the biggest grass-court tournament in the world. It also takes place in one of the most beautiful arenas on the tour. The fact that there were skeptics was before I was born. I only know the Terra Wortmann Open as the internationally renowned tournament it is today.

What was your most beautiful and what was your most difficult moment in Halle?

Definitely the victory against Roger. To manage that, and then also in Germany, was extremely special for me. There were actually no difficult moments, Halle is always beautiful. However, I have lost four finals in singles and doubles combined. So, it would be nice to win one (laughs).

What do you wish the tournament in the future – and for yourself on Center Court of the OWL ARENA?

I’ve heard that Halle has big plans and is trying to become an ATP Masters 1000 event. That will be wonderful, if that happens. Otherwise, I wish the tournament all the best and that it can continue its success story – then hopefully with good results for me.

For more information and tickets, please visit the tournament’s official website.

Unser Teilnehmerfeld 2023 😍🎾

Außerdem mit einer #Wildcard am Start:
✔ Stefanos Tsitsipas
✔ Dominic Thiem
✔ Oscar Otte#TERRAWORTMANNOPEN #two23 #playersfield #Spielerfeld #HalleWestfalen #OWLARENA #ATPTour #ATP500 pic.twitter.com/ytHvQZOvoi

— TERRA WORTMANN OPEN (@ATPHalle) May 25, 2023