sports show: With a win in Paris, Zverev would have been number one in the world for the first time. That would have made his appearance at your tournament even more valuable…
weaver: Of course, that would have been another crazy career leap. The second number one after Boris Becker – that would have been something special for the whole of Germany. But now Daniiel Medvedev will become number one in the world. And of course I’m happy about that, because with Medvedev we still have the number one in the world with us in Halle. He doesn’t have as close a connection to our tournament as Sascha does, but we still have three other top ten players there. That means we still have a strong field of participants.
sports show: What can you do at such short notice as a tournament director if the number one fails?
weaver: I spontaneously contacted Novak Djokovic’s manager. You know each other in the tennis scene and I wanted to at least try that. But he canceled me straight away because Djokovic, as almost always, takes a break before Wimbledon. And I don’t think I have to ask Nadal now either. He’s got problems with his foot. So to commit a replacement at eye level is almost impossible and of course Sascha cannot be replaced as a person anyway.
sports show: How important is Zverev for your tournament?
weaver: He is our figurehead. We are in the process of building him up as the new face of our tournament. Last year we signed a three-year contract with him for the second time, so we also signed him for 2023 and 2024. And when you lose the number one in your tournament, it hurts. It’s unfortunate for us that Roger Federer, who was also a tournament ambassador for a long time, isn’t playing this year either. I can only hope that the audience will understand.
sports show: Federer was an absolute crowd favorite in Halle and has also made himself popular everywhere. Zverev is more of a bad boy. Was it difficult to establish him as a new face after Federer?
weaver: He certainly has his rough edges, but I think the sporting development counts. As an Olympic and world champion, he has already shown that he is capable of great things. We’re counting on him for the future because we’re a German tournament and of course we know that the German players are also a priority for our spectators here. That’s important in terms of ratings, but also for our sponsors. Zverev just gets a lot of attention in Germany. And he also has a lot of fans.
sports show: As a tournament ambassador, is Zverev also a chance for you to rejuvenate the audience?
Yes, in any case. This is of course also an important topic for us. The ATP is also considering how we can get access to a younger audience. Of course, there is an awful lot going on in the social media, too, and it partly depends on the player selection which audience you reach. We also do evaluations and you can see that Sascha’s matches are very often broadcast on mobile devices such as tablets or smartphones – so they are probably also watched by the younger generation. They then take part in the games, even if they don’t come to Halle in person.
sports show: … and they want to see emotional outbursts like Zverev sometimes shows?
weaver: Yes, guys like that shape tennis. They have a high level of sympathy and awareness. Personally, I actually think it’s good when someone polarises. Not every gentleman has to be on the pitch. After all, emotions are part and parcel of sport. That’s one of the reasons why I think a lot of people will miss him this week.
sports show: Would you go so far as to say that the success of your tournament over the next few years will be closely linked to the success of Alexander Zverev?
weaver: Since no German can follow in his footsteps at the moment, I do believe that Sascha will be a very, very important building block for our tournament in the future. So I can answer that question with a clear “yes”.
The interview was conducted by Mareike Zeck.