Hall of Fame bound Dirk Nowitzki on his passion for tennis

He’s getting ready to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Aug. 12, but German legend Dirk Nowitzki always has time to talk tennis -- a sport he often refers to as his “first love.”

The former Dallas Mavericks star grew up playing tennis and has followed the sport his entire life, often turning up at tournaments on both the WTA and ATP tours.

Last year, he was spotted in the stands at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, watching the likes of Iga Swiatek and Daria Kasatkina compete in the WTA Finals.

This season, he attended the Australian Open for the first time -- a bucket list item he was thrilled to check off -- and was also seen at Indian Wells a couple of months later.

He hosts an annual Pro Celebrity Tennis Classic charity event in Dallas to raise funds for his foundation and keeps a close eye on the latest happenings on tour, whether from the stands or from afar.

The former NBA champion and MVP has been to Wimbledon on several occasions and says he was backing Tunisian Ons Jabeur in the finals the last two years.

“I watch tennis a lot,” Nowitzki said last week ahead of his Hall of Fame enshrinement. “I love tennis. I grew up playing tennis, so I’ve followed the sport my entire life. Of course, I’m a huge Roger Federer guy, a Nadal fan. It’s tough to really pick one favorite.

“For women’s tennis, there’s a lot of great players I love to watch. Ons Jabeur has such a fun game, with her drop shots, with her touch. She plays a great brand. I actually wanted her to win Wimbledon the last two years. Unfortunately, she came a little short.”

Jabeur fell to Elena Rybakina in the championship match at the All England Club in 2022 and suffered the same fate to Marketa Vondrousova at the same stage last month.

“I like somebody solid like Rybakina, who is really good, flat shots, hard, her body language is always quiet and calm and collected,” Nowitzki said.

“I do watch all the time. And, of course, there are a lot of good German players over the years that I’ve supported. Whether it is Lisicki or Petkovic or Goerges, over the years, who now retired. I will always be a fan of tennis. It gets me excited talking about it.”

Like the rest of the world, Nowitzki has been following the stunning rise of ATP No.1 Carlos Alcaraz, who stunned Novak Djokovic in a five-set thriller to win Wimbledon -- his second Grand Slam title -- three weeks ago.

He expects the young Spaniard to dominate for years to come.

“Alcaraz I saw live just a couple of months ago in Indian Wells,” Nowitzki said. “Unbelievable. The touch, the talent, the physical nature, the speed, the athleticism. To me, he is like a complete package.

“The crazy thing is, he’s only 20. If he stays injury-free, obviously he’s going to be dominant for a long, long time.

“I watched the whole Wimbledon final a couple of weeks ago against Djoko, which was an amazing match. How tough this kid is mentally, already at that age, to pull that off against Djoko was incredible. He’s the next generation and he’ll dominate the sport of tennis for a long, long time.”

Nowitzki is set for what will surely be an emotional weekend in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside a stellar Class of 2023 that also includes Dwyane Wade, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and Gregg Popovich.