The German number one wins the BMW Open by Bitpanda in just 1:10 hours 6:2, 6:4 against Ben Shelton. An early break at the start paved the way in the first round, followed by a second to make it 5-2 and win the set after half an hour. The 28-year-old impressed with plenty of spin and good length on his groundstrokes, and he seemed perfectly attuned to the wit of the American. At no point did Shelton find a real concept to unsettle his number one seeded opponent. Zverev also started the second set with a break, didn't miss a beat on his own serve and looked focussed and composed throughout the match. The German thus gave himself a birthday present and, after his successes in 2017 and 2018, drew level with the previous record champion at the Aumeister, Philipp Kohlschreiber. In addition to the trophy, he will receive prize money of 467,485 euros, 500 points for the world rankings, the winning car - a BMW iX M70 xDrive - and an original pair of Inntaler Tracht deerskin trousers. "Many thanks for everyone's support - the centre court is beautiful, the tournament is already one of the best 500 events on the tour," said the winner at the award ceremony, immediately announcing his return next year. "This was one of the best weeks you can have as a tennis player on the tour, I don't think I need to say that I'll be back".
In the end, 361 aces were collected for the charity project "Future Aces" by BMW and partners in the singles and doubles main draw, and the same number of coaching hours will benefit socially disadvantaged young people.
