(Reuters) – Alexander Zverev arrived at the Munich Open on the back of his “worst period” since a career-threatening ankle injury in 2022 and it was little surprise the German was beaming from ear to ear after winning his first title of the season on Sunday.
After failing to go past the quarter-finals in his last six events, Zverev sealed a 6-2 6-4 victory over Ben Shelton in the final in Bavaria and leapfrogged Carlos Alcaraz into second in the world rankings after the Spaniard lost the Barcelona final.
Zverev also collected the keys to a shiny new BMW on his 28th birthday and will now look to leave his disappointing spell in the rear-view mirror.
“It’s extremely special,” said Zverev, who has won 24 titles on the elite men’s tour including six on home soil.
“I always love winning tournaments in Germany. It’s probably the most special thing that I can do.
“It’s definitely a great birthday present. I knew I had to play my best tennis, Ben has been playing extremely well,” added Zverev, who got off to a fast start this year by reaching the Australian Open final.
Zverev had banished memories of his brutal ankle injury at the French Open in 2022 by reaching last year’s title clash and he will be primed to challenge holder Alcaraz again at Roland Garros when the year’s second Grand Slam begins on May 25.
“This was one of the best weeks you can have as a tennis player,” Zverev added.
“I don’t think we need to talk about the last few weeks anymore. I’m just so happy with the title and with the level that I managed to play at.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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