Men's Tennis: 4 fun facts about Alexander Zverev that you probably didn't know
Rafael Nadal, David Nalbandian, and Andy Murray have all one thing in common: they have. in the past, beaten Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in back-to-back matches. The latest entrant to this unique group of players is 21-year old German Alexander 'Sascha' Zverev who joined the club last week as he beat Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic en-route to winning the biggest tournament of his career at the Nitto ATP Finals 2018.
Zverev's stock has been on the rise over the last couple of years. From winning the ATP Next Gen Finals to already being the winner of 3 ATP Masters 1000 titles (the most after the 'Big 4' in the ATP Tour currently), Zverev has made giant strides in his fledgling tennis career. Zverev, who recently hired former tennis great Ivan Lendl as his coach, will look to break his Grand Slam jinx going into the 2019 tennis season.
This slideshow focuses on 4 fun facts about Zverev - the giant slayer that you probably weren't aware of :
# Comes from a family with a tennis background
The Zverev family are probably the most complete of tennis families. Zverev's father Alexander Zverev Sr. was a Russian citizen who was also a professional tennis player. He notably beat Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj and Olympic gold medalist Miroslav Mecir. Zverev's mother Irina was also a professional tennis player.
The Zverev's immigrated to Hamburg Germany in the late 1980s and consequently became German citizens.
Alexander Zverev Jr.'s brother Mischa Zverev is also a notable tennis player on the ATP circuit and is a fine serve-and-volley player. Mischa Zverev famously beat Andy Murray at the Round of 16 at the 2017 Australian Open.
The usually taciturn Ivan Lendl had heaped praise on Alexander Zverev even before he became his coach.