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Alexander Zverev: Why the coming weeks will be a special challenge

“As soon as we go onto the pitch, we put on a mask.” The sentence comes from Alexander Zverev. In fact, it’s often difficult to read the Olympic champion, whether after wins or losses.

All the more remarkable is a statement with which he made people sit up and take notice in the “RTL” documentation “Zverev – The Unfinished”. He was “so scared that it would be over for me at the level,” said the tennis star, referring to his operation last year.

The surgery became necessary after Zverev tore three outer ligaments in his right ankle in the semifinals of the French Open in June.

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The injury turned Hamburg’s life completely upside down. Until then, it was well on the way to number one in the world and the first Grand Slam title of the career, but instead he had to watch for more than half a year as Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic or shooting star Carlos Alcaraz dominated the big tournaments.

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Meanwhile, Zverev was struggling in rehab. “I was always very, very proud of my thighs. They don’t exist now,” he openly admitted during that time.

So far, Zverev has not been able to shake off the fear of not making it to the highest level of his sport, at least not in terms of the results since the comeback. At the Australian Open, he lost to world number 103 in round two. Michael Mmoh, he only won one match at the Rotterdam and Doha events.

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that brother Mischa Zverev exclusively at Eurosport.de The assessment that “Sascha can call up his top level” is due to his appearances in Dubai and Indian Wells. In the Arab emirate, he only ended up in the semifinals against Andrey Rublev, at the Masters in California he delivered a huge fight to Daniil Medvedev in the round of 16.

Hard landing for Zverev in Miami

Zverev was Zverev again at times. “Now he just has to work on being able to call up this performance permanently,” summed up brother Mischa. But then came Miami and an opening match to forget. 0: 6, 4: 6 against the Japanese Taro Daniel, who as number 97 in the ranking just belongs to the top 100.

The serve, otherwise one of the sharpest weapons, remained blunt – the point rate was low over both first (59%) and second (41%). Zverev didn’t develop any pressure on the return and didn’t have a break chance throughout the game.

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At the match point for Daniel, he went “through the ball” with his backhand on both sides, but the felt ball ended up out of bounds. The unfortunate Masters in Miami almost logically ended for Zverev with a so-called unforced error.

Becker exclusive: That’s why Zverev needs so much patience

Despite everything, the Zverev camp is sure that the direction is right. There is “no big construction site,” the brother said. “The road or the building is finished if we stay on topic.” In the field of fitness, the world number 15. however, get even better.

The difficulties with the two-time ATP Finals champion are not surprising, after all, the comeback was only three months ago. “Sascha was injured for seven months, so it will take another seven before he’s back where he was 14 months ago,” Boris Becker quoted an old tennis rule of thumb on Eurosport.

In the case of Zverev, that would mean that he can only be fully expected again in the hard court tournaments of the US series.

Zverev’s return to sand – a special challenge

Nevertheless, the next two months hold a special challenge. The reason: It goes back to sand, the surface on which he sustained the serious injury on June 3, 2022. It remains to be seen whether Zverev has full confidence in his body again when he slides or slides.

“The question is: what happens on sand? That’s where he played his best tennis. When does he dare to go back in full and make the movements?” Eurosport expert Barbara Rittner to consider.

On the other hand, the Olympic champion can look back on great successes on the red surface. In 2017 he won the first Masters title of his career on clay in Rome, and he has even triumphed twice at the Masters competition in Madrid (2018, 2021).

Monte Carlo and Munich in focus

At the 250cc event in Munich, he defended his title from the previous year in a home game in the 2018 season. From mid-April, the 25-year-old will once again be the crowd puller at the Aumeisterweg facility.

The tournament is already sold out from the quarterfinals. Munich and the fanaticism could become a “flow heater” for Zverev on the way up.

Alexander Zverev in Munich

Fotocredit: Getty Images

Ideally, he brings a tailwind from his adopted home of Monaco. The Masters of Monte Carlo takes place there the week before. The goal is conservative. The most important thing is “that Sascha is constantly improving,” Mischa Zverev emphasized recently. That is the case. What is clear, however, is that the younger brother would also like to see these improvements on the results table…

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