Hamburg [Germany], July 30 : Alexander Zverev made history, ending the 30-year-long wait in Germany for its second men's singles champion after defeating Laslo Djere in the title clash of the Hamburg European Open on Sunday.
Zverev lifted his first trophy since the 2021 ATP Finals, defeating Djere by 7-5, 6-3. The fourth seed produced some stunning hitting in the match which lasted one hour, and 51 minutes.
He became the fifth player this season to clinch a title without dropping a single set throughout a tournament.
"At the end of the day, this is my home, this is where I grew up, and this is where I started playing tennis," said Zverev as quoted by ATP,
"It was incredible for me, incredibly emotional. I cannot describe it in words, I am just super happy right now," he added.
Zverev was competing in his first ATP Tour title clash since May last year in Madrid.
The joy of winning the title increased manifold as he made his return from a serious ankle injury sustained during the semis of the 2022 French Open with Rafael Nadal. This victory is his first since his return to action at the start of 2023.
"It is almost like a first [title] again," said the 20-time tour-level champion Zverev.
"It is such a long time [since my previous title], 18 months, and I am just super happy right now," he added.
Prior to this win, Michael Stich's win in 1993 marked the only occasion that a German had won a singles title in Hamburg in the Open era since 1968.
Zverev was brilliant on return against the in-form Djere, who had only dropped service three games en route to his first ATP Tour finals match of the season. The German frequently took hard slices at his opponent's delivery, converting three of his four break opportunities to move to 3-0 in their ATP Head2Head series.
"I think he was the much better player throughout the first set. I just kind of stuck with it and dug it out somehow. Credit to him, he is one of the most respected guys on Tour, he is doing all the right things. At the end, I am just happy that it went the way it went," said Zverev.
This is his 20th tour-level title and it has increased his chances of reaching the 2023 ATP Finals, where he is a two-time champion. He has also made a three-spot rise to ninth in the ATP Live Road to Turin rankings, though Taylor Fritz can gain that spot if he wins the Atlanta Open later on Sunday.
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