Alexander Zverev does not have a clay court title in his young career on the ATP Tour yet. However, that might change for the 20-year-old as he heads into a low-tiered and home-country event this upcoming week. Zverev, who represents Germany, is the third seed in the 250-level Atp Munich draw.
Zverev a threat at 250-level
While Zverev has not yet won a title on clay, he did do well last year at ATP Nice in southern France. At that 250-level event, Zverev finished runner-up ahead of a 3rd-round appearance at the 2016 French Open. The German remains one of the brightest lights among the young players on tour and he certainly seems to have improved over the last year.
That being the case, it would not be surprising to see him pick up one of the lower-tiered titles this clay court season.
When looking at his draw in Germany, there isn't a clear early round threat. Firstly, Zverev will have a bye through the opening round and that's great news for him. He was active last week at ATP Barcelona for a bit and avoiding a first round match in Munich will help make sure he's at 100% when it's time to contest his second round match. He could face Jeremy Chardy in the second round, but Zverev is certainly the more dangerous player at this point in each player's career. Before the final, the young German might have to face Roberta Bautista-Agut and certainly that could be a challenging match.
Lastly, in the top half of the draw one finds both Gael Monfils and Fabio Fognini.
Monfils over-rated in the Munich draw?
However, top-seeded Monfils doesn't yet have a significant highlight to his 2017 season. Furthermore, he had just one title in all of 2016 and you have to go all the way back to the 2005 season to find a clay court title for the athletic Frenchman.
He has played well at Roland Garros before and that certainly attests to some clay court aptitude. However, 2008 was his best result from the French Open, it was ages ago, and in many ways Monfils doesn't look like a big threat for the title in Munich this week. Lastly, Monfils has never been much of a tournament closer, as the veteran has just six career titles.
Three of those have come in his home country of France so if he and Zverev were to meet in the Munich final, the advantage would likely go to the German.
If there is a dark horse in the Munich draw, it might be Alexander's older brother Mischa Zverev. He is in the top half of the draw with Monfils and Fognini. Mischa has just one final appearance in his career at any tour-level event, but he is playing well so far in 2017. Perhaps there's a chance of an all-Zverev final in Munich next weekend.
