Zverev Promoted To Seeded Player In Halle After Withdrawal But Set To Face Friend Thiem

| by Zlatko Vodenicharov

Alexander Zverev will make his grass season debut at the 2023 Halle Open, and he'll make it as a seeded player thanks to withdrawals.

Alexander Zverev initially planned to make his start on grass last week in Stuttgart but the German opted to withdraw from that event due to a minor injury suffered at Roland Garros. His return to grass will happen this week at the Halle Open where he will now be a seeded player thanks to the withdrawal of Felix Auger-Aliassime.

It's a good break to have for Zverev in terms of the draw generally but the first-round match won't be easy. He'll face his good friend Dominic Thiem, who defeated him in his only Grand Slam final so far. It's going be an interesting match for Zverev as Halle should favour his style of tennis, though, the grass has been somewhat of a shaky surface for him in the past.

Talking to the media ahead of the event's beginning the German spoke about his earliest memories of the event which included the 2008 edition when his older brother became the doubles champion together with Youzhny.

My first real memory is the year 2008, in which my brother Mischa won the doubles title with Michail Youzhny. The tournament later simply became part of my own professional season, a self-evident date.

Felix Auger-Aliassime Withdraws From 2023 Halle Open
Felix Auger-Aliassime Withdraws From 2023 Halle Open

Roland Garros saw him return to a pretty good level overall, his best tennis by far since he got injured last year. It's a welcome return to top form for Zverev though now comes the more difficult part - keeping it high on a different surface.

Recent struggles have seen him slide on the rankings a bit losing his top spot for a brief moment; something that hasn't happened in years. The last rankings after Roland Garros saw him move ahead of Struff again but he'll slide below him following a good run by Struff in Stuttgart. It's been a very positive time for German tennis just in time for the 30th anniversary of the Halle Open.

The situation in German tennis has become really good in the course of the season, of course also and above all because of Struffi, who has held up the flag for a long time and has now put another one on top.

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