This training partner was a very special one for Alexander Zverev. A few days before the start of the Davis Cup Intermediate Round in Hamburg, the Olympic champion and son of Russian parents was on court with Leonid Stanislavskyi in the city of his birth
As the German Tennis Federation wrote on Instagram, Stanislawskyi is 98 years old, making him the oldest active tennis player in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records – and he is Ukrainian.
In connection with the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Zverev had supported the decision of the World Tennis Federation (ITF) to exclude Russia and Belarus from team competitions such as the Davis Cup. On the other hand, he had criticised the fact that professionals from these two countries were not allowed to compete in the Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon. They were allowed to play at the US Open in New York.
Zverev was still absent there after suffering a serious foot injury at the French Open in Paris three and a half months ago. The 25-year-old is now making his comeback at the Davis Cup. In the matches against France, Belgium and Australia starting on Wednesday, the German team will try to qualify for the final round in Málaga at the end of November. The first and second-placed teams in each of the four groups will travel there.