Zverev beats Djere in straight sets to win Hamburg European Open

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — Alexander Zverev won the Hamburg European Open for the first time on Sunday by beating Laslo Djere 7-5, 6-3.

It’s the 26-year-old Zverev’s first title since winning in Turin, Italy, in November 2021 and he achieved it without dropping a set at his hometown tournament.

“I was born here, I grew up on these courts, I first picked up a tennis racket in Hamburg, so to win here is bigger than winning a regular ATP event,” Zverev told his fans.

The fourth-seeded Zverev began the week denying allegations of assault after the public prosecutor’s office in Berlin applied for a penalty order to be made against him. Zverev said the matter was being handled by his lawyers.

He progressed to the final with wins over Alex Molcan, Maximilian Marterer, Luca van Assche, and Arthur Fils.

Zverev converted three of his four break points to beat the 57th-ranked Djere in 1 hour, 50 minutes.

Dutch player Arantxa Rus won the women's title on Saturday.

___

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports