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Week 30
It has been 15 years since the “German Open Tennis” lost its prestige and was downgraded from a Masters 1K event to an ATP 500 tournament. Alexander Zverev, a native of Hamburg, kickstarted his remarkable career in his birthplace back in 2014 when, as a 17-year-old boy, he made it to the semifinals. However, it took him nine long years to finally claim the championship trophy, marking his first title in a year and a half. The moment he clinched the victory was deeply emotional, as he fell to his knees with tears of joy in his eyes. “This is my home, where I grew up and started playing tennis,” Zverev expressed, overwhelmed with the significance of the win. “It was an incredible and emotional experience. I can’t find the right words to describe it; I’m just extremely happy right now. It feels almost like my first title again.” Due to adverse weather conditions, Zverev’s last two matches were played indoors, and impressively, he didn’t even have to face a tie-break throughout the week. This triumph marks his 20th title, with only three members of the “Big 4” having won more titles among active players.
Thirty years later, it is still baffling how Mikael Pernfors triumphed in Montreal without having won an ATP title for nearly five years. Pernfors, a runner-up in the 1986 French Open, was once regarded as part of the broader elite group in the second half of the 1980s. However, a series of injuries, including knee and tendon issues from the early 1990s, hampered his progress, and he had managed only two minor titles at the main level. At one point, his ranking dropped as low as No. 1095 forcing him to seek points in the Satellites. However, the resilient 30-year-old made a comeback to the Top 100, thanks to three Challenger titles. His Canadian victory over Jason Stoltenberg in the second round was already considered an upset, but then he achieved the unimaginable by defeating the World No. 2, Jim Courier, with a convincing score of 6-3, 6-2. Notably, just a few months earlier, Pernfors had lost to Courier 0-6, 3-6 at Key Biscayne. Courier admitted: “Everything was wrong. Mikael played very well and let me beat myself.” This win bolstered Pernfors’ self-confidence, enabling him to overcome higher-ranked left-handed opponents in straight sets in his next two matches. Pernfors’ last hurdle was the 23-year-old Todd Martin, who reached a career-best achievement at that time by advancing to the final. Initially, the tall American seemed to have the match in the bag, given his height advantage of 25 cm, superior serving, and aggressive receiving. Despite Martin leading 5:2* in the decider, he faltered due to tentative play, allowing Pernfors to seize the opportunity with his agility. Consequently, Pernfors secured the title after an impressive comeback, arguably the best in his career. Unfortunately, for Martin, he was never again as close to winning a tournament featuring the world’s best players during the next ten years, while Pernfors returned to the position he held before that miraculous week in Canada. At the end of 1993, Pernfors won a Challenger event in Bermuda, actually marking the end of his career.
Hamburg (ATP 500; clay semi-outdoors)
Montreal ($1.4M; hard outdoors)
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