Bulgarian Tennis Federation made a great gift for the Bulgarian crowd for the upcoming eight edition of the Sofia Open tennis tournament. After hard negotiations, the organizers were able to call up Alexander Zverev. The German, who this week is number 9 seed in the world rankings, will play in Bulgaria for the first time ever. In Sofia he will try to guarantee himself a spot in the ATP Finals in Turin, which start November 12.
Zverev’s participation became possible after a special permission from the ATP. After Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton withdrew, Sofia Open had an „emergency situation“ after the withdrawal of two of the three highest ranked players in the rankings. That ensured an option in which a player is called up without request to participate and the need for a „wild card“. After serious efforts, Zverev will play in the capital and will be number 1 seed.
Zverev is 26 years old. He’s from Russian origin, but was born and raised in Germany, under which flag he became an Olympic champion in Tokyo two years ago. His best result in the world rankings is number 2 in June last year.
He has 21 titles in his career, the last of which came in Chengdu, China. In the Grand Slam tournaments his best result is the final of the US Open in 2020, when he led Dominic Thiem by two sets, but eventually lost the match. The German has played five other semi-finals and four quarter-finals. /BGNES
