Alexander Zverev He was the victim of one of the most unfortunate and unpleasant episodes on the tennis planet last season. semifinals of Roland Garros 2022: the German arrives immersed in a bestial wave of confidence after defeating the fashionable boy, a Carlos Alcaraz whom he annulled in four sleeves to temper the spirits of the Murcian fans. The biggest challenge, however, was in the semifinals. He had to measure himself before the King of Paris, a Rafael Nadal who had just signed an outstanding performance, one of those ‘house brands’, in the quarterfinals against Novak Djokovic that everyone talked about.
Gray day, rain and a roof over the Philippe Chatrier. Rafa’s ball lost its liveliness in his impacts and Sasha’s flat shots resounded on the Parisian clay. The superiority from the bottom of the track is of little use if you are not capable of adding the Important points, a lesson that Zverev learned in a first set in which he missed multiple set balls. When the second approached a similar conclusion, with a German quite fresh on a physical level and a Nadal who was not having a good time, the moment came that changed everything. Alexander moved to the right of him to chase a blow from Rafa and, landing on his right leg, suffered a sprained ankle really spectacular that would end up becoming tear of several ligaments. The image that remained from that game, of course, was that of a demolished Sascha who left Chatrier in Wheelchair.
Almost a year has passed since that postcard and Zverev has no doubts when asked about that day. He confessed it to the Eurosport microphones: yes, he saw himself fully capable of overthrowing Nadal if that damn twist hadn’t come. While he tries to return to that state of form in each tournament he plays, the one from Hamburg claimed his level in that tournament. “Yes, for some reason I thought I could win. I don’t want to sound arrogant: Rafa is obviously the best player to ever play on that surface, so you never know what could have happened. There is no telling what could have happened in that match: if he didn’t injure me, of course he could have lost that match as well. He could have added his 14th Grand Slam anyway.”concludes a Zverev who is fully aware that it was far from an easy task.
That does not mean, of course, that he did not see himself as a winner that day. “I felt like I was playing some of the best tennis I’ve ever played on clay. For some reason, it seemed like I could at least go one-on-one with him, which is what I was doing. Clearly the end result of a match also depends on small details, but I truly felt that this could have been my week“confesses the German shamelessly, who ended up in the dry dock for the rest of the 2022 season and added new injuries at the end of that season, delaying his reappearance on the circuit until the start of this season.
RECOVERING FROM INJURIES IS NOT AN EASY TASK
Sascha also wanted to talk about it, giving his point of view as far as recovery from a serious injury is concerned. “Rafa and Roger are different. They come back from injury and start winning tournaments immediately. I don’t know how they can do it, but they’ve been doing it for 20 years. I needed time, but I also think my injury was a bit different. I was unable to walk for two months. You must internalize your movements again, learn to walk and run again. These are all factors that can affect your tennis. I don’t think I can be compared to Rafa, because Rafa comes back and starts to win games not only against everyone, but doing it 6-0, 6-1 or 6-2″.
