Alexander Zverev celebrated his 28th birthday in the best way possible—by winning the Munich Open on home soil and ending a stretch of poor results.
The German star defeated American Ben Shelton 6-2, 6-4 in Sunday’s final to claim his first ATP title since his runner-up finish at the Australian Open in January. The win earned Zverev €467,485 ($531,644) in prize money and an electric car from tournament sponsor BMW.
The victory also helped him move up to No. 2 in the ATP rankings after Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz lost in the Barcelona Open final later in the day.
“This was one of the best weeks you can have as a tennis player,” said Zverev, who was born in Hamburg. He received the winner’s trophy from Bavarian state premier Markus Söder.
“I don’t think we need to talk about the last few weeks anymore,” Zverev added. “I’m just so happy with the title and the level I managed to play at. Now I’ll enjoy my birthday and the fact I’ve won a tournament.”
Zverev had failed to reach a semi-final in his past six ATP tournaments. His form had dipped since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final. That match made headlines again when Sinner later accepted a three-month suspension from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) over two positive doping tests in 2024.
Now, with the French Open just a month away, Zverev’s return to form comes at the perfect time.
After the match, Zverev joined in local tradition by donning Bavarian lederhosen and taking a spin in his new electric car on court. The crowd of 6,000 then sang “Happy Birthday” to him. Among the fans was Bayern Munich football legend Thomas Müller.
“You can all be happy that I didn’t have to sing,” Zverev joked to the crowd, smiling.
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