Alexander Zverev sits down with the French Open through with difficulty in the 1st round. He himself thinks it’s completely normal – and hopes to be able to improve significantly.
The return to the place where he experienced his great trauma was successful. The 26-year-old defeated the South African Lloyd Harris, currently number 294 in the world rankings, 7-6, 7-6, 6-1 in the first round of the French Open in Paris.
Even if the game ended in three sets, it was a tight and sometimes tough match with many mistakes on both sides. “It wasn’t easy. The conditions were difficult. I’m just glad that I’m one lap further and didn’t play five sets as usual.”said Zverev.
Twelve months ago, Zverev tore seven ligaments in his foot in the semifinals in Roland Garros. At a time when he was probably playing the best tennis of his career.
In the middle of regeneration process
He had brought the Parisian dominator Rafael Nadal, who then won his 14th title in Paris, to his performance limit and was able to calculate realistic chances of winning the game – until there was a loud bang and Zverev from now on right in front other (medical) challenges were faced.
The physical problems now seem to be as good as over. “As long as I’m not in pain, everything’s okay. Sometimes I still have fluid in my foot, I can feel something. Everything’s fine at the moment.”, said Zverev. And if he didn’t feel anything physically, he wouldn’t think about it anymore, he assured.
However, the German is still in the regeneration process in terms of form, which was also underlined by his game against Harris. The ups and downs creep into his punches automatically. The playful deficits against variable opponents – like the South African is one – are obvious.
policy criticism by Becker and McEnroe
Against Harris, Zverev always managed to get himself out of the mess with his crashing serves. As is well known, this is often more of a “wobbly blow” and not a reliable supplier of points. But at least it worked remarkably well on this summery afternoon in the almost idyllic botanical garden of the extensive tournament facility.
Germany’s Alexander Zverev in action during the match against South Africa’s Lloyd Harris at the French Open.
Zverev struggled through against Harris, set almost no playful highlights. But maybe that’s asking too much at the very beginning of a Grand Slam tournament. He himself had an explanation for this performance with many flaws. “I’ve never had a good first lap in a Grand Slam in my life”, he said. For this reason, too, Zverev himself cannot make any statements about the form he is actually in. “That is hard to say”he said, frowning.
But Zverev should have given his critics, such as ex-top players Boris Becker or John McEnroe, new approaches. You recently complained that Zverev had not developed further and hardly changed his game.
Zverev wants to convince critics with victories
Against Harris, too, his rare trips to the net seemed primarily indecisive. He was only able to convert two out of six volleys. Zverev’s game has long suffered from the fact that he far too seldom completes his hard basic strokes and serves directly on the net.
But: Zverev can be stubborn, doesn’t want to convince his critics with new game variants but simply with victories. The next opponent in Paris on Thursday (June 1, 2023) is the Czech Alex Molcan, whom Zverev faced on the tennis court as a thirteen-year-old talent. “I hope that I can play better tennis then”, said Zverev. He will probably have to.
