Hamburg (AP) – Olympic tennis champion Alexander Zverev entered the Golden Book of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg on Tuesday. Two days after his triumph at the Tokyo Games, the 24-year-old was welcomed by Mayor Peter Tschentscher and Sports and Interior Senator Andy Grote in his hometown.
“The gold medal belongs not only to me, but to the whole city of Hamburg,” said Zverev in the phoenix hall of the town hall: “The city has made me the person who stands here.” That is why he thanked the city in his entry in the Golden Book. There couldn’t be a better place than the town hall to celebrate the Olympic victory.
Zverev, who wanted to pay a visit to his home club Uhlenhorster HC after the ceremony in the town hall, emphasized that the medal is not just made of gold. It also takes “tears, sweat, blood, hard work and sleepless nights” to make this dream come true. “No matter what I win, the gold medal will always have the most value,” he said.
All of Germany cheered for the final against Russian Karen Khachanov, said Mayor Tschentscher, who described the tennis professional as a “great role model”: “From Hamburg he made his way into world-class tennis.” Interior Senator Grote hoped that Zverev would soon celebrate a success at the European Open at Rothenbaum in Hamburg. That is a title that the son of the city would still lack. Zverev himself would also like to return to the town hall: “Hopefully after a Grand Slam,” he said.
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