Alexander Zverev reveals his first grass-court tournament

• Tennis News
• ATP Tennis

The eighth edition of the grass-court ATP event in Stuttgart occurs between June 12-18. It will be the first grass test for Taylor Fritz, Hubert Hurkacz, Lorenzo Musetti, Matteo Berrettini and Nick Kyrgios. The home favorite, Alexander Zverev, will also compete for the title, asking for a wild card and starting his grass swing in front of the home fans.

Zverev debuted in Stuttgart on clay nine years ago at 17, falling to Lukas Rosol in two tie breaks. Alexander returned to compete on grass in 2015 and 2019, experiencing early losses and withdrawing ahead of the event two years ago.

Zverev missed the second part of the previous season after a severe ankle injury at Roland Garros. The German has yet to find his form in 2023 and wants as many matches as possible. Alexander played his last encounter in Stuttgart in 2019 as a top-5 player.

World no. 170 Dustin Brown stunned the favorite 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 in two hours for his fifth top-10 triumph. It was Dunstin's first ATP victory since the 2017 US Open, defending 13 out of 14 break points and moving over the top with three return games.

Zverev fired 21 aces and 14 double faults, many in the pivotal moments. Alexander hit a double fault in the encounter's third game to experience a break. Brown repelled a break chance in the eighth game to move 5-3 up and created four set points on the return in the next one.

Zverev denied them and held to reduce the deficit to 5-4. Leaving that game behind, Dustin landed four winners in game ten for 6-4 after 32 minutes. Alexander seized the sixth break chance in the second set's second game after the rival's forehand error and served well to open a 5-3 gap.

Alexander Zverev will compete in Stuttgart for the first time since 2019.

Suddenly, Dustin broke back at 15 in game nine following a perfect drop shot and had the upper hand. The more experienced German wasted two break points in the 11th game to keep Zverev alive, serving to stay in the set at 5-6.

The youngster created four set points and failed to convert any. Zverev had no room for errors in the breaker and won it 7-3 after Brown's loose drop shot to send the encounter into a decider. Nothing separated them in the first six games, with only three points for the returners.

Zverev was the first to pull the trigger on the return after earning three break points at 3-3. Dustin stayed focused and fended them off to gather a boost. He broke Alexander in the next game with a volley winner and sealed the deal with incredible volleys at 5-3 to move over the top and celebrate the most significant victory in years.

"I'm delighted to be part of the Boss Open in Stuttgart; tournaments in Germany are significant for me, and it's always great to compete in front of the home fans. I'm heading to Stuttgart eager to get the grass season off to a good start," Alexander Zverev said.