Alexander Zverev returned to the tennis stage with a win and a loss. At the Diriyah Tennis Cup in Saudi Arabia, the Olympic champion first won against the Austrian Dominic Thiem 10:8, 10:7.

The sets were played in the first round of the show event in a so-called match tiebreak and were therefore much shorter than usual. In the quarter-finals, Zverev had to admit defeat to the Russian Daniil Medvedev 0: 6, 4: 6. This means that the 25-year-old will only play doubles on Friday.

For Zverev (25), it was the first official appearance since the semifinals at the French Open when he suffered a serious foot injury against Rafael Nadal in Paris in early June. Born in Hamburg, he wants to gain some match practice this year before things get serious again with the United Cup in Australia around the turn of the year. The Australian Open will start in Melbourne on January 16, 2023.