Alexander Zverev had to think briefly. In the year of the 40th anniversary of Boris Becker’s Sensationstriumh, he leads a German trunk contingent of historical dimensions in Wimbledon. Wouldn’t it be better to hunt for the longed-for first Grand Slam triumph if the focus of the German public would not only focus on it?
“It would help you. But I don’t think that in the next few years someone will come in such a way that I will feel less pressure,” said Zverev. “At the end of the day I am 28, I learned to listen there so that you don’t care.”
In the singles, only Jan-Lennard Struff and Daniel Altmaier are at his side-there were so few German gentlemen at the classic lawn in 1983. Since only Tatjana Maria, Eva Lys, Laura Siegemund and Ella Seidel are in the women’s main field, the number of German tennis professionals with seven is as low as 43 years ago. There is no other German apart from Zverev.
“The whole load always hangs on him,” analyzed Andrea Petkovic on Monday before the tournament start. “The arm probably has back pain of all the pressure he has to carry around with it.”
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Zverev: I’m still number three in the world
In Germany, Zverev has an exceptional position despite Tatjana Maria’s latest surprise coup. Internationally, before his 38th attempt on a Grand Slam triumph, other stars such as defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic are once again mentioned as favorites.
“I think people forget that I am still number three in the world,” Zverev said about the expectations on the turmoil he was rather unloved for a long time. “Maybe I had a few unexpected defeats here and there. But I feel that my shape will come back for the past few weeks and months.”
Waiting for the first quarter -finals in Wimbledon
So far, Zverev has never been over the round of 16 in Wimbledon – with eight appearances. Half-amused, half outraged, the 28-year-old replied to an American journalist, who had therefore called him the veteran of the tennis scene. “A veteran? Really? This is the first time that I was ever called a veteran,” said the Olympic champion of 2021.
But from the top 15 of the world rankings, only Novak Djokovic (38) and Daniil Medvedev (29) are older than the Hamburg-both are also Grand-Slam tournament winners. Most recently, Zverev presented himself in a decent constitution at the tournaments in Stuttgart (final) and in the Westphalian Halle (semi -finals), and won as many preparatory games on lawn as in his career.
Last year, according to self -description, in view of the slippery underground, he was still like a “cow on ice”. “I feel comfortable on the topping,” he said now with the impression of the first training sessions in southwestern London.
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At the legendary Center Court, Zverev starts the tournament on Monday afternoon against the French outsider Arthur Rinderknech. In the quarter -finals there could be a duel with anxiety opponent Taylor Fritz, against whom he was last inferior five times in series and also in the final of Stuttgart.
Becker: Zverev has to develop further
Whether Zverev also uses the art of listening to the advice of Boris Becker’s advice after further such defeats will still have to be shown. The tennis legend had gotten to a changed, new environment and a change of coach after the quarter-finals at the French Open-and thus annoyed the German number one.
In Wimbledon, Zverev is on the training ground with his father as usual. “His claim is to be the number one in the world. And then I think that maybe a new voice from the outside, maybe only with the Grand Slams, teaches him something new,” said Becker a few days before the tournament start in a podcast with Petkovic and underpinned his opinion.
The 57-year-old also criticized the fact that Zverev can be calculated in the duels with the top stars. “It is now up to him to develop there to get the Mount Everest of tennis,” emphasized Becker. “I am convinced that he can do it.”
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