In the summer of 2009, a 12-year-old won the German final of the Nike Junior Tour at the TC Blau-Weiß Halle. “What I’d like most is to win all four Grand Slams,” the boy told the local sports editor of the Westfalen-Blatt at the time. Now, 17 years later, that young talent has achieved one of his goals: Since last weekend, Alexander Zverev has been able to call himself the winner of a Grand Slam tournament—and was honored for it in Halle by the German Tennis Federation and the TERRA WORTMANN OPEN on the center court of the heristo-arena.
“The German tennis community was absolutely thrilled that it worked out in Paris. We’re all Grand Slam champions now. When you play, Germany wants to see it. You spark tremendous enthusiasm,” said DTB President Dietloff von Arnim on Sunday afternoon in the stadium, which was packed with 3,000 fans, noting record viewership for Eurosport, which had broadcast the final a week earlier. Alexander Zverev also has a special connection to the ATP tournament in Halle. Six years after his junior victory, Zverev took to Center Court for the first time in June 2015 and defeated Jarkko Nieminen 6-4, 6-4. Since then, the German has been a regular in East Westphalia, apart from his injury-related withdrawal in 2022. In nine appearances, he has reached the final twice (in 2016 against Florian Mayer and in 2017 against Roger Federer) and has reached the semifinals in each of the past three years.
“Alexander Zverev has been an integral part of our tournament’s identity for many years. He is not only Germany’s most successful player of his generation, but also a fan favorite in Halle. And that is why we are especially pleased today to extend our warmest congratulations to you,” said TWO Tournament Director Ralf Weber. Sven Wortmann, a member of the Supervisory Board of WORTMANN AG, added: “We hope to welcome Sascha to the TERRA WORTMANN OPEN as often as possible and to have many more years together in Halle.”
Zverev beamed as he accepted the congratulations and two large-format photos as mementos of his French Open victory. “This trophy,” he said, “has been earned over the last 30 years because my family, my entire team, and I have worked hard and done everything we could together to eventually win a title like this.”
He promised his fans: “I want to play tennis for a very, very long time and win many, many more titles. I believe that we’re also doing a lot of good work together with the DTB, so we won’t have to wait another 30 years.”
Next week, he’ll first turn his attention to the 33rd TERRA WORTMANN OPEN: “I hope to win this title someday, too. Thanks to everyone who’s here. We’re going to have a great week!”
