A week after winning the US Open, Zverev leads Germany's Davis Cup tie against Croatia
German tennis player Alexander Zverev, fresh off his US Open title, opens Germany's Davis Cup second-round tie against Croatia on Saturday in Halle, facing Matej Dodig.
Germany's tennis team faces Croatia on Saturday in Halle, Westphalia, in a Davis Cup second-round tie, with newly crowned US Open champion Alexander Zverev playing the opening singles match.
Schedule
Following Friday's draw, the 29-year-old Zverev will meet Matej Dodig at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday (free livestream on tennis.de). Daniel Altmaier then plays the second singles match against Dino Prizmic. According to n-tv.de, Zverev is considered a clear favorite against the world No. 171, and team captain Michael Kohlmann chose Altmaier over Yannick Hanfmann for the lineup. On Sunday at noon, the doubles match follows — US Open finalists Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz against Tokyo Olympic champions Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic. If needed, two more reshuffled singles matches will follow, with the first team to win three rubbers advancing.
Skipping a rest
According to sportschau.de, after claiming his second Grand Slam title, Zverev chose to honor a promise he made in New York — to play Davis Cup — despite saying "everyone around me is trying to talk me out of it." German captain Kohlmann described the decision as a signal to the whole team and support staff, adding that Zverev feels the squad genuinely has a chance to win the entire competition.
Context
Zverev is also in the running for the world No. 1 ranking: after his US Open win, he trails Italy's Jannik Sinner by just 1,810 points. Sinner, currently out with a knee injury, has far more points to defend by year's end than Zverev does. This meant Zverev could have skipped the Davis Cup tie with little cost to his ranking chase, yet he opted to play anyway.
Croatia is missing its biggest name, former US Open champion Marin Cilic, due to injury. On the German side, longtime team leader Jan-Lennard Struff is notably absent from the squad in Halle. The Davis Cup Finals will be held from November 24–29 in Bologna, Italy, featuring eight teams; hosts and defending champions Italy have already secured their spot. Germany has won the competition three times, though its last title came 33 years ago.
