Alexander Zverev and
Casper Ruud are set to play at the Hamburg Open later this year with the former glad to return to his home city.
Zverev grew up in Hamburg and loves returning back home when he can. The German was supposed to make his comeback to the sport last year in Hamburg but his ankle wasn't ready yet so his return to Hamburg will be in 2023.
He signed up to play in the ATP 500 event to try and finally win it. Zverev never won it or reached the final of it so far in his career.
On the decision to return, Zverev said:
"I’m delighted to be back at the
Hamburg European Open
for the first time since 2019. Winning the tournament is a huge
childhood dream of mine. I hope I’ll have the crowd right behind me and
I’m sure we’ll have a wonderful week of tennis together."
Besides Zverev we'll also see Casper Ruud taking part after the event pulled some great names last year as well. Lorenzo Musetti took on Carlos Alcaraz in the final and it was a wonderful final which the Italian won. This year's lineup showed be pretty good as well as the tournament director said:
“It was our big goal to present Alexander Zverev in his
hometown. It will be his first appearance in Hamburg since his Olympic
victory, and I hope the people of Hamburg will give him a great
reception. Alexander is someone who can get the crowd right behind him
and he can ignite an electrifying atmosphere in the Rothenbaum stadium.
If Alexander hadn’t suffered the serious injury in the French Open
semifinals, he could well have become the world No. 1. He’ll get back to
top form very soon. I’m certain he’ll win several Grand Slam titles.”