Australian Open
“I feel ready” – Zverev is fighting for the big coup
Alexander Zverev is starting the first major tournament of 2026 with new enthusiasm and old questions. Will the tennis star achieve his big goal at the Australian Open?
New year, new attempt: In the hunt for his first Grand Slam title, Alexander Zverev is hoping for a redeeming coup again in 2026. But before his first appearance at this year’s Australian Open on Sunday night in Germany, the world number three was shown how long he has been chasing his big dream.
“I grew up watching him play,” said Italian Lorenzo Musetti earlier this week in an exhibition fight in Melbourne against Zverev. “That hurts,” the Hamburg native commented with a laugh on his opponent’s unmeaning words.
Final defeat last year
But it is true that Zverev has been on the tour for many years. This year’s Grand Slam opener is already his twelfth participation in the Happy Slam Down Under. Last year he was very close to his big goal in Melbourne. After a strong tournament, the 28-year-old reached the final in the Rod Laver Arena, where he was defeated by the Italian Jannik Sinner in three sets. Again Zverev was very close, but again it didn’t work out for his first triumph at a Grand Slam tournament.
What followed was a very mixed year with many sporting and health setbacks. The low point was the first round exit at Wimbledon with the subsequent declaration of having mental problems. Although Zverev improved again towards the end of the season, he wasn’t really happy when he said goodbye to the short tennis break after the disappointments at the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup finals.
A few weeks later, he said that he could “also be a little proud” of having finished the year as number three in the world “with what felt like ten injuries”. How his body will play out now remains to be seen.
“I feel better and better every week, but getting a bone healthy just takes time,” said Zverev, without naming which bone it was. Last year it restricted him “extremely”. “We’ll see what it’s like now.”
Zverev recharged his batteries while on vacation in the Maldives. Together with his girlfriend Sophia Thomalla, brother Mischa and friend Marcelo Melo, Zverev enjoyed the time out under the sun and palm trees and traveled to Australia relaxed and in a good mood towards the end of the year. “I feel fit and I also have the feeling that I played very, very well in training,” he said two days before the difficult start against Canadian Gabriel Diallo.
The United Cup at the start of the season in Sydney did not go as desired with one win and one defeat and the associated exit of the German team in the group phase. Missing the quarter-finals meant that Zverev arrived in Melbourne early, as he rarely did. As one of the first top stars, the 2021 Olympic champion completed a few training sessions in the Rod Laver Arena and was able to adapt optimally to the conditions on the Yarra River. “I feel ready to start the tournament,” he said.
Fun and show in Melbourne
The exhibition match against Musetti, where he won the first set in a tiebreak before the Italian had to give up, was just as welcome a change as the 1 point slam between amateurs and professionals. There Zverev joked with his friend Andrei Rublev, laughed with world number one Carlos Alcaraz and simply had a good time.
So the mood is right, now all that’s left to do is the performance. Tennis legend Boris Becker, recently one of Zverev’s biggest critics, believes that the world number three in Melbourne will have a good tournament. “Melbourne is actually a good place for him. But of course he has to find his way into the tournament,” explained the Eurosport expert. In his hunt for his first Grand Slam title, Zverev “has another chance to show us all.”
After the many disappointments last year, Becker demanded that Zverev find a new coach. New input is needed to take the next step.
But Zverev is still coaching with his father Alexander Zverev Senior, and nothing else has happened around him. Is that enough to really pose a threat to the two dominators Alcaraz and Sinner? There are doubts as to whether Zverev can reduce the gap to the top duo with business as usual and really be a serious contender for the title in Melbourne.
If the Grand Slam triumph doesn’t work out again, he will keep trying despite all of Musetti’s teasing. “I hope that I will have a long career,” said Zverev. “I’m only 28, not 38 yet.”
dpa
Keep reading
