"A trophy for the shelf & 4 pandas for the nursery" - Alexander Zverev’s girlfriend Sophia Thomalla shows off her souvenir after he wins Chengdu Open

Alexander Zverev's girlfriend, Sophia Thomalla, recently showed off the panda souvenir she received from her boyfriend after his 2023 Chengdu Open victory.

Zverev, ranked No. 10 in the world, defeated Roman Safiullin in a thrilling three-set final on Tuesday, September 26. The 26-year-old came back from a set down to clinch a 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory for his second title of the season.

Zverev also boosted his chances of qualifying for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, where he is a two-time champion (2021 and 2018).

On Tuesday, Thomalla shared a picture on Instagram of Zverev kissing her on the cheek while they held the pandas:

"A trophy for the shelf and 4 pandas for the nursery we’re already bringing home 🥰🏆🐼🐼🐼🐼 Next stop: Beijing," Thomalla wrote on Instagram.

Zverev dropped three sets in four matches during his run at the Chengdu Open. He started with a three-set win over Pavel Kotov in the round of 16, having received a bye in the previous round. He then defeated Miomir Kecmanovic in three sets in the quarterfinals, before overcoming Bulgarian player Grigor Dimitrov in two tight sets in the semifinals.

Alexander Zverev will now head to Beijing for the 2023 China Open, where he is seeded eighth.

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Alexander Zverev to face Diego Schwartzman in China Open 1R

Alexander Zverev at the 2023 US Open

Alexander Zverev will face Diego Schwartzman in their first round match at the 2023 China Open on Thursday, September 28.

While Zverev is fresh off his 21st career title in Chengdu, Schwartzman is coming in with very little momentum. The Argentine has dropped to No. 133 in the rankings, having failed to defend most of his points from last year. In fact, Schwartzman has only won nine matches in 2023.

This will be the sixth meeting between Zverev and Schwartzman, with the former leading their head-to-head series 3-2. They last played in the 2020 Nitto ATP finals round robin, where the German won in three sets.

Both players will be looking for a strong start in Beijing, as they face a tough draw that could see them clash with top players such as Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Holger Rune, and many more.

The winner of the match will advance to the second round and face either Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Yi Zhou.