Alexander Zverev yesterday in the quarterfinals of the Erste Bank Open 2023 against Andrey Rublev eliminated. Two years after winning the title in the Stadthalle, Zverev is probably leaving the Austrian capital with mixed feelings.
by Jens Huiber
last edited: October 28, 2023, 12:56 p.m
© GEPA Pictures
With the congratulations to Andrey Rublev, Alexander Zverev’s Erste Bank Open 2023 was over
By Jens Huiber from the Wiener Stadthalle
At some point in the middle of the first set in his quarter-final encounter with Andrey Rublev in Vienna, Alexander Zverev would have wished for a microphone. But since there wasn’t one at hand, he addressed some fans who absolutely didn’t want to rest, without an amplifier. The message was clear: “Quiet, please.” Just in different words.
In fact, the 2021 title holder showed a tournament that is hard to understand. With Sebastian Ofner and Cameron Norrie, he had two opponents at the start who, with all the fighting spirit that Ofner and Norrie exude, couldn’t pose a threat to him on normal days. Zverev got off to a cold start against Rublev, but almost turned the game around again at the end. The farewell on Friday evening was friendly, the German number one can count on a solid fan base in Vienna.
Zverev doesn’t give up the game against Rublev
To which Alexander Zverev contributes a lot. He always conducts the on-court interviews charmingly. “Tomorrow is a holiday. So I thought I would go a little faster today so that people can go celebrate,” said Zverev on Wednesday after his win against Norrie. That’s fun. Just like the fact that Zverev doesn’t give up a game, even if it goes as poorly as it did at the beginning against Rublev.
Nevertheless, the comeback season took its toll on Zverev. Remote diagnoses are always difficult and actually inadmissible, but the Hamburg native has seemed a little tired in the last few weeks. Not an accusation, a statement. Zverev will qualify for Turin, something that would hardly have been expected of him by mid-May. Then he played his way back into the semi-finals at Roland-Garros and later won two titles in Hamburg and Chengdu later in the year. Not much will be remembered from the Vienna guest appearance in 2023.
Will there be another feat of strength at the ATP Finals?
However – and Alexander Zverev has proven this again and again in recent years – the two-time champion should never be counted out at the ATP Finals. Zverev is one of the few players who have already won against Novak Djokovic in major finals (Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune would be the other potential or already confirmed Turin starters). It is quite possible that Zverev will commit another act of violence in northern Italy.
Here is the individual tableau in Vienna
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Zverev Alexander Rublev Andrey
2023-10-28 12:23:00
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