French Open champion Zverev confirms China Open participation
(ECNS) -- Newly crowned French Open champion Alexander Zverev will make his eighth appearance at the China Open in Beijing this autumn, the tournament's organizing committee said on Monday.
The 29-year-old German claimed his first Grand Slam title on June 7, defeating Italy's Flavio Cobolli in five sets at Roland Garros. With the victory, Zverev became the third German man in the Open Era to win a major singles title, following Michael Stich and Boris Becker, and the first German ever to claim the French Open men's singles crown.
Zverev also added to a "post-90s" milestone in men's tennis, becoming the third player born in the 1990s to win a men's singles Grand Slam title, after Dominic Thiem (2020 U.S. Open) and Daniil Medvedev (2021 U.S. Open).
Zverev has a long story with Beijing. He first competed in the Chinese capital in 2015 as an 18-year-old, starting from the qualifying rounds. A year later, he reached the main draw and advanced to the quarterfinals. In 2017, then ranked world No. 4, he made his first semifinal appearance at the tournament. He also reached semifinals in Beijing in 2019 and 2023, but has yet to reach the final.
The 2026 China Open will be held at the National Tennis Centre in Beijing later this year.
(By Tang Yuxian)