Zverev Battles Through Challenges to Reach Quarter-Finals at ATP Munich Tournament

Not everything went smoothly for Alexander Zverev this Wednesday afternoon at the ATP tournament in Munich.

There was the net on Center Court in the Bavarian capital, which the German kept getting stuck in at the beginning.

There was the opponent Jurij Rodionov, who didn’t even think about giving the court to Zverev, even though Zverev is 174 positions ahead of him in the world rankings.

And there was the Munich weather, which initially greeted Zverev with sunshine, only to then prove to be a real challenge.

Zverev with willpower in the patience game

And yet, in the end, Zverev managed to prevail 7:6 (7:3) and 6:2 despite the difficult situation – a performance of will in this patience game on the Isar.

He won the tiebreak in the first set 7:3 after 1:04 hours of play against Rodionov. Of course, due to the rain and hail interruption lasting more than an hour and a half, significantly more “time hours” had passed after 45 minutes.

But instead of finally finding his rhythm, after Rodionov’s first service game in set two, the next break promptly followed because the heavens opened its floodgates again.

Contrary to what was feared, the second interruption of the day seemed to have helped Zverev. The German immediately equalized to 1-1 in the second round and immediately afterwards took his opponent’s serve game away for the first time.

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Audience celebrates Zverev with La Ola waves

The Hamburg native also completed his next own serve practically safely – the trouble from the first set was forgotten, when balls repeatedly fell too deep for him and Rodionov’s lack of precision allowed easy points.

Suddenly the audience, motivated by Zverev’s improved level of play, joined in. During the (scheduled) breaks when the score was 4:1 and later 5:2, a group of young men in the north stand encouraged the rest of the audience, who remained steadfast despite the terrible weather, to do La Ola waves.

It was also clear to Zverev that the interruptions encouraged the enjoyment of one or two cold drinks and therefore probably played a role. He was amused by the spectators’ actions in the on-court interview after his victory and had to admit: “I would have had 16 too Drank beer if I had had six hours now.”

Despite the victory, he wasn’t completely satisfied with his game: “We had some good tennis, we had some bad tennis.”

Zverev: “The cold is the biggest challenge for me”

Nevertheless, the joy of reaching the quarter-finals at the “special tournament” (Zverev’s quote) and therefore also the possibility of being able to stay in Munich a little longer prevailed. “I’m happy that I’m in the quarter-finals here for the first time in a few years. I usually come to Munich for a day and then go back, so it’s nice that I’m actually staying here,” said Zverev.

Success in his opening match was not easy, explained Zverev, who was struggling with the falling temperatures as the rain began to fall. “For me the biggest challenge is still the cold because to be honest that’s something that disrupts my game more than it helps,” he said.

“The court and the ball are not alive, if I serve at 220 km/h, it hits the opponent at hip height instead of at the shoulder. That’s a huge difference,” Zverev explained. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the game it was the serve that helped him not to fall behind, as he kept generating free points.

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Zverev: Difficult transition to Monte Carlo

At the press conference, the German number one confirmed when asked by Eurosport that the reason for his rather weak start against Rodionov was the drop in temperature compared to his recent appearances in Monte Carlo.

“In Monte Carlo we played at 25 degrees and at sea level. Here it is five degrees, rain and we are several hundred meters above sea level. This is completely different tennis,” said Zverev.

Nevertheless, the 26-year-old is aware that he has to come to terms with the weather conditions in Munich: “It’s generally difficult for me in such conditions and this weather, but I have to make the best of it.”

Next rain battle in the quarterfinals?

Temperatures of between two and eight degrees are forecast for next Friday, when the world number five plays his quarter-final against the winner of the game Alex Michelsen against Cristian Garín – the probability of rain is a threatening 80 percent.

Even then, patience will be required again. Zverev demonstrated in his opening match that suboptimal conditions do not necessarily mean suboptimal results.

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2024-04-17 22:54:00
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