Dubai Tennis: Olympic gold medallist Alexander Zverev tours Museum of the Future
US Open finalist gets an encounter with robodog and boards spacecraft Hope
Dubai: Olympic gold medallist Alexander Zverev enjoyed a glimpse of the future ahead of his participation at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
The 25-year-old German, who reached as career-high World No 2 ranking on the ATP Tour last year, paid a visit to the emirate’s stunning Museum of the Future on Saturday, marvelling at the architecture and exhibits, before entering a virtual time machine to fast-forward to 2071.
Touring what National Geographic recently named one of the world’s 14 most beautiful museums, the 2020 US Open finalist encountered a robodog, boarded a spacecraft called Hope — named after the UAE’s Mars orbiter — and stopped off at the DNA library, home to more than 2,400 different mammals, angiosperms, annelids and molluscs.
Special place
“It’s very nice. The architecture is not something you see every day, but I think the things inside are even more interesting than the architecture,” said Zverev, looking up at the museum’s iconic exterior, designed in the shape of Arabic calligraphy. “Of course, it’s been voted one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and there’s a reason for that — its special.”
Zverev gets his Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships campaign under way on Monday against the Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka.
Grab Your Seats
Tickets for the 31st Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships are on sale at dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com, starting from Dh55. Tickets are also available at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium Box Office between 9am and 9pm daily. The ATP Tour 500 tournament runs from February 27 to March 4.
The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.