A professional tennis tour - Tennis player Zverev pulls out of Stuttgart event.
Germany's best tennis player Alexander Zverev, as anticipated, has withdrawn from the competition in Stuttgart this week. The tournament managers made this announcement two days after he lost the French Open final against Spanish player Carlos Alcaraz.
"I've played a lot of tennis recently and made it to the final in Paris, where I played five intense sets. My body isn't yet ready to switch from clay to grass at the moment," explained the world's fourth-ranked player in a statement released by the organizers on Tuesday.
The number one seed is out
Zverev was the top seed for the start of the grass season at the Weissenhof and was scheduled to play in the round of 16 on Thursday. However, it was already evident after the Paris final, which he lost to Alcaraz, that Zverev wouldn't be competing in Stuttgart. "The likelihood that I'll play in Stuttgart is roughly equal to the chances that I'll leave again and win the final," he stated on Sunday.
Last year, the German number one also canceled his Stuttgart participation at the last minute; at that time, he injured his thigh during the semifinals of the Roland Garros.
"To some extent, it's reasonable"
The organizers are disappointed by the cancellation. The repeated absence is "to some extent reasonable," said tournament director Edwin Weindorfer. "We've been working hard for the past two days to get him to play as planned on Thursday," the official explained: "We assume that we'll see Alexander Zverev again in Stuttgart next year, in line with our long-term agreement."
Zverev will start his preparations for the Wimbledon Grand Slam event (July 1-14) in the following week in Westphalia. The organizers confirmed his participation again on Tuesday. In Stuttgart, French veteran Richard Gasquet will replace Zverev in the main draw.
