Physical condition prevents Alexander Zverev from playing in Stuttgart

What was foreseeable on Friday evening after the semifinals at the French Open in Paris became certainty on Saturday morning! Alexander Zverev has to withdraw from the BOSS OPEN at Stuttgart’s Weissenhof due to problems with this thigh.

Alexander Zverev had pulled his thigh in training on Thursday and was visibly not in full possession of his strength in yesterday's semifinal against Casper Ruud at Roland Garros. The Norwegian took the match in straight sets and will now face Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the finals on Sunday.

"I would have loved to play the BOSS OPEN in Stuttgart, but unfortunately my body doesn't allow that now. Although I was really looking forward to the tournament and the special atmosphere at the Weissenhof," said Alexander Zverev.

"Alexander Zverev played a great tournament in Paris, for which we congratulate him. It is of course regrettable that his physical condition prevents him from competing in Stuttgart. But his priority now is to heal completely so that he can return to the tour as soon as possible. We wish him all the best for the rest of the season and hope that he will be part of the BOSS OPEN in the coming years”, explained tournament director Edwin Weindorfer.

The main draw wildcard intended for Alexander Zverev will now go to Feliciano Lopez, who had already been drawn for the qualifiers and will now be replaced by Frenchman Hugo Gaston. The 41-year-old Spaniard reached the final in Stuttgart in 2017 and has won four of his seven ATP titles on grass (2013 and 2014 in Eastbourne, 2017 and 2019 at London's Queen's Club).

The line-up of the BOSS OPEN is headed by the two top ten stars Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) and Taylor Fritz (USA). In addition, Italian defending champion Matteo Berrettini and his compatriot Lorenzo Musetti, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul (both USA), Hubert Hurkacz (POL), Nick Kyrgios (AUS), Denis Shapovalov (CAN) and the German trio Jan-Lennard Struff, Daniel Altmaierand Oscar Otte will also play in Stuttgart next week. Otte, from Cologne, who reached the semifinals at the Weissenhof last year, is included in the main draw starting on Monday thanks to a wildcard, as are Tsitsipas and Lopez.