Alexander Zverev celebrated his US Open triumph with a heartfelt tribute to his mother for refusing to let diabetes define his future.
The German top seed beat American Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), 5-7, 6-2 to finish a spectacular year at the tennis Grand Slams in which he proved his doubters wrong by going from perennial nearly man to two-time Major champion.
Zverev, 29, praised his mother Irina, a former professional tennis player, and credited her with ensuring type-1 diabetes never limited his ambitions in life.
“When your four-year-old son is diagnosed with diabetes and doctors tell you that life and sports will be very limited for that child, it takes a very strong mother to say ‘my son will be whatever he wants to be’,” said Zverev, who also won the French Open in June. “‘If he wants to be a tennis player, he’ll be a tennis player ... this illness will not define us’.
“My mother is the most important and strongest person I know because it takes an unbelievably strong woman to do what she did.”
REUTERS
