Alexander Zverev is a German tennis player with Russian roots. At twenty-two years old, he had already won thirteen ATP tournaments and was in third place in the rankings.
Biography
Alexander Zverev was born on April 20, 1997 into a Russian family, which at the time of his birth had already moved to Germany. His dad's name is also Alexander. He is a professional tennis player and played for the national team Soviet Union. Alexander's older brother Mikhail is also a professional tennis player playing for Germany. Zverev knows how to serve strongly and builds his game from the serve. He usually has a lot of aces to his name. No one forced either Alexander or his brother to become tennis players. They decided it themselves.
Start of a career
Alexander picked up a racket at the age of five and since then has devoted himself to tennis. In juniors, his main successes are associated with 2013 and the beginning of 2014, when he was able to reach the final of the Junior Roland Garros, but could not win, and then won the junior Australian Open.
Also in the 2013 season, Alexander played his first match at the adult level in Hamburg, but lost to Bautista Agut in the first round. In 2014, we managed to win the Challenger and reach the semi-finals in Hamburg. Moving along the grid, Alexander beat players such as Mikhail Youzhny and Robin Haase, and lost two more rounds to David Ferrer, at that time seventh in the world.
Fast progress
In the 2015 season, Alexander finally got used to the ATP tour, although he won another challenger at the beginning of the year, after which he entered the top 100 rankings for the first time in his career. In the same season, Zverev entered the main draw of Wimbledon for the first time and in the first round defeated Teimuraz Gabashvili in five sets, and ended his performance in the second round. During the season, Alexander reached the semifinals once and was in the quarterfinals a couple more times. His results were enough to remain in the top hundred. He finished the year 87th and received the award " Best Newcomer year."
In 2016, there were victories over players from the top twenty. At the Australian Open, he was clearly unlucky to immediately face Andy Murray, who predictably won. In Montpellier he reached the semi-finals, and during the tournament he beat Marin Cilic, the eighteenth racket. Further in Holland, Zverev won the match against Gilles Simon, the fifteenth racket in the world. In March, he made his international debut, but lost both matches. In Indian Wells, only Rafael Nadal was able to stop Zverev in the fourth round. Further results went even stronger. In Munich, Zverev reached the semi-finals and in Nice the final, but lost to Dominic Thiem both times. Alexander's rating was already in the first fifty. In Hull, on a grass court, Alexander beat his idol Roger Federer in the semi-finals for the first time in his career, but he simply didn’t have the strength left for the final. There was also a semi-final in Washington. But this could not continue forever, and at the end of the year Zverev won his first ATP trophy. This happened in St. Petersburg, where in the final Zverev unexpectedly beat tournament favorite Stan Wawrinka. Alexander finished the year 24th in the ranking.
Becoming a top tennis player
Many tennis players and experts noted that Zverev has the makings to become a top player, but hardly anyone thought that this would happen so quickly. After his victory in St. Petersburg, Alexander seemed to burst. During the 2017 season, he won five trophies, two of them in premier category tournaments. In Rome, he met Djokovic in the final and the Serbian was the clear favorite. Few believed that Zverev was capable of fighting the Roland Garros champion. But Zverev won, and in two sets. At the second premiere in Canada, the German beat Roger Federer, also in two sets. Three more trophies were won in Munich, Montpellier and Washington. Zverev himself admitted that he was very worried when he first met Djokovic, Nadal and Federer on the court, but after the first time, according to him, they became the same rivals as the others. He finished the 2017 season third in the ranking.
In the 2018 season, Alexander took four more trophies, the last one at the final tournament, beating Djokovic in the final. He reached third place in the rankings, but finished the year in fourth. The only thing he's missing is good results at Grand Slam tournaments. But if he continues like this, then the results will come.
Personal life
Zverev does not talk about his personal life, and when asked about being seen with pretty girls, he answers that they are family friends.
Profile
Alexander's height is 198 cm, but as long as John Isner is on the courts, Zverev will not be the tallest.
Playing right hand. Builds aggressive power tennis from the serve.
A German with Russian roots has recently touched on the topic of Russia, the Soviet Union, and Soviet tennis more than once, and it is not surprising that his words every time cause a strong reaction from fans.
In a recent interview, Sasha praised the tennis school in the Soviet Union that his father and first coach received Alexander Zverev Sr.. « Tennis school in the USSR it was very good from a technical point of view. This helped me a lot, because it was my parents who taught me the technique in early years" The Zverev family moved to Germany in 1991 due to the difficult economic situation in the country and since then have not returned to their homeland for more than a few days. “When we lived here for ten years, it became clear that there was no point in moving back to Russia. And then we simply changed our citizenship,” admitted the head of the family. The Zverevs’ eldest son, Mikhail, was born in Sochi, and the youngest Sasha was already in Hamburg.
The love for tennis passed on to the children from their parents: not only the father devoted his whole life to this sport, but also the boys’ mother, Irina Fateeva, played tennis professionally. Alexander Mikhailovich Zverev played for the Soviet Union national team in the Davis Cup, won the European Championship and became the USSR champion seven times (three times in singles). In 1982 and 1984, Zverev took first place in the ranking of Soviet tennis players. At the end of his playing career, he became a coach and worked at CSKA, and then emigrated first to Cologne and then to Hamburg, where he continued his coaching career.
Ours are everywhere. Soviet roots of world tennis
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“My wife and I can be called Russians who live abroad. Many more years will pass, but we will remain Russian. But Sasha and Misha, I think, have become Europeans,” said the athlete’s father. Zverev Sr. can be understood, since he and his wife spent most of their adult lives in the Soviet Union, and their perception of many things was formed a long time ago. Misha was born during perestroika, so he can be considered a member of the intermediate generation. The same cannot be said about Sasha, who was born in 1997 and is definitely a product of new times. Zverev Sr. never said that he gave his children so-called Soviet equipment, but this is not the first time that the youngest of his sons has emphasized the Soviet background.
“I respect my family’s past, but I don’t consider myself Russian”
Russia seems very big country. Sports car fan Sasha can drive through his native Germany in six hours. He has no idea how many hours it takes to cross Russia - he has never traveled east of Moscow. IN last time was in St. Petersburg in 2016, when in the final of St. Petersburg Open beat the then third world racket of the Swiss Stan Wawrinka. In St. Petersburg, the young player won the first title in his career, so this victory was special. Despite the fact that everyone in the family speaks Russian, the tennis player does not consider himself a Russian person. “There is nothing Russian about me, because I went to German school, my friends are Germans. It so happened that I had almost no contact with the Russians.” The public received these words ambiguously. Misha spoke out in defense of his younger brother: “He probably more likely meant that he was born in Germany, went to school there kindergarten, school. In this regard, let’s say, he has undergone less changes than me. That’s probably why he said so.”
Alexander Zverev Jr. is upset that his father various reasons failed to realize his potential on the court. During his career, the father of star tennis players won 18 victories in Davis Cup matches (this is the eighth record among Soviet and Russian tennis players during the existence of the tournament). His best position in the ATP rankings was 175th place. In total, he played 21 matches in ATP tournaments (5 wins and 16 losses). "My father was always very good tennis player, but never had the opportunity to demonstrate it. The reason for this is the political situation in the USSR. Sports and politics should never be linked, and my father paid the price for that. He didn't have permission to travel to tournaments."
Sasha's girlfriend - Olga from Russia
Until recently, nothing was known about Sasha’s personal life. In October 2018, he was spotted with Olga Sharypova. “Obviously, we are just friends,” Zverev joked then. After a while, the doubts evaporated into thin air. Young people posted in social networks photos and videos from a joint vacation in the Maldives.
This year Olga accompanies Sasha at all tournaments where he takes part. Note that the girl could also become professional tennis player, but for a number of reasons her career on the adult tour did not work out. At the professional level, Sharypova played two matches: in the qualifications of minor ITF tournaments in 2012 and 2018.
Alexander Zverev (Russian: Zverev Alexander Alexandrovich) is a professional German tennis player of Russian origin. Born on April 20, 1997 in Hamburg, Germany, in the family of Soviet tennis player and coach Alexander Mikhailovich Zverev, who moved there with his wife in the early 90s of the 20th century. from the USSR.
From the age of 5, Alexander Zverev, thanks to his father, played tennis. Hard training under the guidance of his father bore fruit - today Sasha (as he is called in Germany) is one of the main hopes of young tennis players in the country.
Alexander's working hand is his right.
Career milestones
Alexander Zverev began playing professionally in 2013, when he lost his first appearance at the Australian Open.
In the same year, he reached the semifinals of the US Open, where he lost to the future champion of the tournament, Croatian Borna Coric. He also reached the 3rd round at the Wimbledon tournament, and at the French Open he reached the final, losing to Christian Garin.
Achievements
2014 turned out to be more successful for the young tennis player. He won the Australian Junior Open this year. In the final, Alexander Zverev, seeded number one, won 6-3,6-0 against American Stefan Kozlov, seeded number two.
He won his first ATP Challenger World Tour in Braunshaig, defeating TOP 100 French tennis player Paul-Henri Mathieu on clay.
He also competed in the German Open, where he lost to David Ferrera in the semi-finals. At this tournament, he won for the first time against a tennis player who was in the TOP-20 (Mikhail Youzhny).
In 2018, Alexander Zverev Jr. made a breakthrough in tournaments Grand Slam. He reached the quarterfinals at the French Open. In addition, Sasha reached the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters. He is in fifth place in the world rankings, confidently moving forward. From the name it becomes clear that Zverev is Russian, but the tennis player plays for Germany. The thing is that his family moved to Hamburg before the birth of his son. Alexander practically never visits Russia, but speaks his parents’ native language fluently.
Sports family
Sasha's whole life is connected with tennis. His father Alexander Zverev Sr. is an Honored Master of Sports of the USSR. He played for the national team at the Davis Cup and won 12 matches in singles. Soviet champion married tennis player Irina. In the marriage, the athletes had a son, Misha, who also began to perform successfully on the court. When he was three years old, the family moved to Germany. There, in 1997, Alexander Zverev Jr. was born.
“When we left, the economic situation in Russia was very bad. After living in Germany for ten years, we realized that there was no point in returning home. And we simply changed our citizenship,” recalls Zverev Sr.
Sasha picked up a racket when he was just a year and a half old. As the father says, no one forced children to follow in the footsteps of their parents. They themselves chose this path. At the age of 6, Alexander was already training seriously and soon began playing for the German national team. By 2014, he became the number one junior racket by winning the Australian Open.
The first significant victories of Sasha Zverev
The tennis player does not have a special nickname. Fans of the German with Russian roots simply call him Sascha Zverev. The athlete was spotted in major league, when he won his first ATP Challenger tournament. At 17 years and 2 months, Zverev became the youngest holder of this title. Before him, he was a champion.
Victories soon followed at the German Open, where Alexander was able to defeat Robin Hase and. The following year, 2015, the tennis player performed successfully at the tournament in Munich. There he reached the semi-finals. Taken together, all achievements allowed Sasha to get into the top 50. He signed a successful contract with the brand and has since performed only in their equipment.
Alexander plays a lot in Germany. The athlete's native land apparently influences the result. In 2016, at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Zverev beat one of best players– . The St. Petersburg Open Championship also turned out to be a victory. Then Sasha came to Russia for the first time in 10 years. He defeated Stanislas Wawrinka, who at that time was the third racket in the world.
A year later, Alexander Zverev Jr. himself became third. This was preceded by the third round Open Championship Australia, victory at the Southern French Open and the first Masters 1000 quarterfinal in Miami. During the year, Sasha moved up, beating Marin Cilic. Having won, he became the first tennis player born in the 1990s to receive the Masters 1000 title. In an interview, the champion talked about how much he was worried about playing with the best tennis players:
“The first time you meet Federer, Murray or Djokovic, you will be nervous. But after a while they become regular opponents, people you see every week. That's how you should think. You can't think of them as legends. You have to treat every opponent the same.”
Anxiety also affects the behavior of a tennis player. Sasha Zverev has repeatedly called the judges names, considering their decisions to be incorrect. The athlete says that they are preventing him from playing and hurls insults. All this can be attributed to his young age and extreme stress, because he competes with the best. Although before the final match at the tournament in Shanghai in October 2019, Zverev spoke very respectfully towards Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev:
“He plays a fantastic game. Sixth final in a row, final at the US Open, title in Cincinnati. He's probably the best tennis player in the world right now."
Becoming a Master
Working with his father, Alexander Zverev was able to receive the most prestigious awards. The coaching team also included Spanish tennis player Juan Carlos Ferrero. Since 2018, Sasha has been working with Ivan Lendl. With him, the athlete again reached the third round of the Australian Open. In the Davis Cup match against Australia, Zverev helped the German team reach the quarterfinals. At the Miami Masters tournament, the champion also beat David Ferrer, but was unable to defeat the American John Isner in the final. However, he managed to regain the championship in Madrid. This was followed by a landmark victory over Russian Karen Khachanov at the French Open, which qualified him for the quarter-finals.
In general, 2018 can only be considered an asset for a tennis player with a stretch. The only more or less serious success was his victory in the final match of the clay tournament in Madrid, which he won over Dominic Thiem on May 13.
2019 turned out to be richer in events in game plan, the standings include victories in various second- and third-hand tournaments over the Slovenian Aljaža Bedene, the Frenchman Jeremy Chardy and the Australian Alex Bolta. The main success came at the Geneva Open tennis tournament, where Zverev beat Chilean Jarry Nicolas with a score of 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8). Surely this is not the last achievement of the tennis player. Sasha is only 22 years old, there is time to move on.
On October 13, 2019, Zverev had every chance to win his first major title. In the Masters final in Shanghai, he faced Daniil Medvedev from Russia. The previous four matches ended in favor of the German national, so this time we should have expected a victory. But the Russian tennis player prevailed and continued his successful 2019.
Zverev Alexander Alexandrovich is a famous German tennis player. He is the winner of ten ATP tournaments, a triumphant youth Australia Open and a permanent member of the German national team. Let's look at the biography of German tennis player Alexander Zverev.
Childhood
The German tennis player was born on April 20, 1997 in the famous city of Hamburg. Alexander has an older brother, Mikhail, who is also a popular tennis player, but he has achieved less success than his younger brother. His father is a former professional tennis player who played for the USSR. In the early 90s, the family moved to Germany. The older brother, like the younger one, plays for the German national team. From an early age the boy began playing tennis.
Youth career
The guy began taking his first steps in professional tennis at the age of 16, entering final part youth Grand Slam tournament, which, unfortunately, lost. At the beginning of the next year, greater success awaited the German tennis player, as Alexander was able to win the junior Australia Open, showing outstanding play throughout the tournament.
Senior tennis career
His debut in adult tennis occurred in 2013, when the German tennis player played in his native ATP tournament in Hamburg. The following summer, Alexander won his first title at the adult level. A few weeks later, the guy reached the semi-final stage at a tournament in his hometown.
The following summer, Alexander was able to reach the final stage of the tournament in Munich in doubles along with his brother. A few months later, Alexander won the title at the tournament in Heilbronn, which allowed the young tennis player to debut in the top hundred of the world rankings. In the same season, Alexander played in an adult Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career, reaching the second round.
A month later, the German tennis player reached the semifinals at the tournament in Båstad. At the end of the season, at the second Grand Slam tournament in America, Alexander was able to overcome qualifying rounds tournament, however, he was beaten already in the first round, losing to his compatriot. As a result, Alexander finished that season in 83rd place in the rating.
In 2016, the German showed no less outstanding results. At the first Grand Slam tournament in Australia, Alexander did not make it past the first round, since his opponents were Andy Murray, who at that time occupied the second line of the ranking. However, the very next month, together with his brother, Alexander reached the finals at the tournament in Montpellier. In the same tournament, at the singles level, Alexander reached the semi-finals.
Until the end of the season, the German tennis player was able to show mature play, reaching significant rounds in tournaments, but without winning any of them. As a result, Alexander finished that season at 24th place in the world rankings.
Photos of Alexander Zverev are presented in the article.
The most significant achievements occurred in 2017 and 2018. In 2017, the German was able to reach the third round at the Australia Open and the fourth round at Wimbledon. Having won several additional titles, Alexander became one of the best tennis players that season, qualifying for Final tournament at the end of the season and achieved the highest ranking of his career - 4.
Already this season, the German tennis player was also able to show a decent game, winning the clay tournament in Madrid. At Grand Slam tournaments, Alexander was able to reach the quarterfinals at competitions in France for the first time in his career. At the remaining Grand Slam games, Alexander dropped out in the early stages: at the Australia Open and US OPEN he was eliminated in the third round.
Following the results of the current season, Alexander was able to make it to the Final Tournament, taking fifth place.
Today, the German tennis player ranks fifth in the world rankings and 160 in doubles.
For my long career he defeated tennis players from the top ten rankings ten times. The German beat the tennis legend and Stan Wawrinka twice each.
Awards and achievements
In tennis, Alexander Zverev achieved outstanding results, regardless of his age. In 2015, the German tennis player received the Rookie of the Year prize, showing high-quality play. Alexander has won ten ATP singles titles to date. Most of them came on hard, which is the profile surface of the German tennis player.
In doubles, Alexander achieved less results, winning only one title. Alexander always had his own brother as a partner. In 2017, the Zverevs won the title in Montpellier. They reached the final five times, but lost the tournament in the final stage four times.
Personal life
Alexander Zverev does not have a serious relationship, being in the status of an eligible bachelor. The guy spends his free time from tennis with close people and parents. In an interview, Alexander states that he is more German than Russian. The only childhood idol for the young tennis player is the Swiss Roger Federer, who currently occupies third place in the world rankings, two places ahead of the younger Zverev. The guy's favorite hobby is watching feature films and computer games.
