Olympic tennis champion Alexander Zverev shared a success with basketball nice Dirk Nowitzki at Melbourne Park forward of the Australian Open.
The former NBA champion with the Dallas Mavericks in in Australia along with his household.
Fellow German Zverev, who’s again in motion after a long-term ankle damage, has been drawn to start out the primary grand slam of the yr in opposition to Peru’s Juan Pablo Varillas.
Nowitzki performed tennis in his youth earlier than basketball.
“I started when I was five and liked the competition. I was ranked sixth or seventh in Bavaria,” he as soon as informed broadcasters Tennis Channel.
Later, nonetheless, the 213cm Nowitzki determined to pursue a basketball profession.
“I was a little bored travelling to tournaments on weekends. I was also much taller than the others and got teased. I then stopped playing tennis when I was 15,” he defined.
Nowitzki retired from basketball in 2019, however has already mentioned that he is nonetheless a “tennis freak” and had a courtroom constructed on his property for himself and his youngsters.
