It took a long time for Alexander Zverev to feel so strong again that he believed he could win against any competitor. The best German tennis player has worked his way back with a lot of will and continues to chase his dream.
Almost a little embarrassed, Alexander Zverev went to the net and thanked his opponent Karen Khachanow for the match with a friendly handshake. The 26-year-old swept his Russian opponent from the field in the round of 16 of the Miami Open with 6:1, 6:4 in just an hour. The force of Zverev’s punches took Khachanov’s breath away.
“Of course I’m very happy to win 6:1, 6:4 against a player like Karen – you have to play OK. Not much went wrong. I hope I can continue to play like that,” said Zverev .
With this impressive success at this major tournament in the 1,000 series (a category among the four Grand Slams), Zverev has returned to the top 5 in the world rankings.
Dropped to 27th place
The best German tennis player last held this ranking in October 2022, a few weeks after he suffered a serious ligament injury at the French Open, was no longer able to take part in tournaments – and temporarily fell back to 27th place.
It took almost two years for Zverev to return to his high level. Serious fears that he would no longer be able to pick up a bat after his injury did not come true.
A remarkable feat of will from Zverev, which underlines the great sporting ambition the Hamburg native shows.
The recovery time is finally over
“To bounce back so quickly after the severity of the injury is extraordinary. There’s not much room for improvement now,” says Michael Kohlmann, head coach of the German Tennis Federation (DTB), to Sportschau.
Most recently in January, after the Australian Open, where Zverev played his way to the semi-finals and defeated, among others, the Spanish shooting star and world number two Carlos Alcaraz, the currently best German tennis player finally ended his recovery period himself.
Good chances for the Miami title
“I’m happy that I’ve now reached a level where I can say: I’m playing for the big titles again. And I get to a tournament and can win against everyone. I hope I can show that too.” said Zverev, who now seems to completely trust his strengths again.
His solid backhand, his cracking serve, his increasingly frequent net attacks in Miami testify to this self-esteem. “His great talent always involves a lot of work. And this combination definitely works for Sascha, he is a very hard worker. And now there is still the last step to take. But he has that in him too,” says Kohlmann. “He doesn’t have the Miami title yet, but now he certainly has a good chance.”
Constant development required
Zverev used the forced downtime not only for his health, but also for the further development of his game. Zverev emphasized immediately before the tournament in the US state of Florida that he must “always find a way to improve. Otherwise you will stand still, and if you stand still, others will overtake you.”
Zverev seems to have internalized this attitude. And then he still has a big dream that he really wants to fulfill. Winning one of the four Grand Slam tournaments. “Unfortunately, I took a two-year break when it comes to my chances of winning a Grand Slam,” said Zverev. This is now finally over.
“I definitely trust him to do that. There’s just a very small piece left,” says Kohlmann.
2024-03-27 12:44:00
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