Alexander Zverev and David Ferrer - A strange couple
Alexander Zverev always maintained the tennis community during the Corona period. The youngest two volts of the best German tennis player: the cancellation for the exhibition fights in Berlin and the desired cooperation with David Ferrer.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Jul 09, 2020, 11:30 am
It is an amazing couple that has come together in Monte Carlo for a professional test run these days. There is Alexander Zverev (23), the much criticized tennis world-class player. A young man who is known for his great talent, but also for his moodiness and instability. For discipline problems, for ascents and descents in a fluctuating career. And, currently, for violent slips in the Corona crisis. And then there is David Ferrer, 38, a recently retired vagabond from the traveling circus. One who stands for almost everything that Zverev does not stand for. For consistent dedication to his sport, for remarkable consistency over many years on the tennis tour, for respectful behavior towards everyone in his work environment. The former world ranking third: A traditionalist, a representative of the old school.
This weekend Zverev was supposed to show up at a show tournament in Berlin, he would have been in the leading role alongside the Austrian Dominic Thiem in the prominently held competition, which is partly held in the Steffi Graf Stadium on Hundekehlesee. On Wednesday, however, he then informed the organizers that he did not want to take part in an “organized event” at the moment, instead concentrating on the two-week work with his part-time partner Ferrer and therefore had to cancel. After all the scandals and escapades around parties on the Adriatic tour and later in his adopted home Monaco, Zverev's guest appearance would have become more of a gauntlet anyway.
Kyrgios states "idiotic behavior"
He would hardly have been asked about his athletic form or personal details in his team, but rather about the irresponsibility that ultimately shaped his actions and actions. Zverev had just been seen in the middle of a Mediterranean party - which wasn't a sight for someone who had sacredly assured that he would retire to self-imposed quarantine after the party disaster at Djokovic's fun event. Even Australia's head keeper Nick Kyrgios suddenly found Zverev able to read the Levites for good reason and to rave about "idiotic behavior".
Djokovic, the failed host, was undoubtedly the biggest loser during the game-free pandemic. It remains to be seen how and whether he will recover from the disaster, how fans will react to the Serbian return to tennis. Zverev, the young German, will have a similar difficulty. Even before the great health crisis, he had to struggle enough with image problems, especially in Germany. The break for the otherwise ever rolling tennis machinery came to him at the wrong time, meanwhile, it has almost been forgotten that the 23-year-old from Hamburg experienced his greatest career success in January. At the Australian Open in Melbourne, Zverev only failed in the semifinals on buddy Thiem, after a 1-1 set tie he lost rounds 3 and 4 in the tie-break. Zverev then spent most of the time at a standstill in Florida, training there with his ancestral service team.
New content about Zverev
One of the bitter surprises of the crisis was that Zverev was so badly advised or not advised in the trials and tribulations of the Corona era. After all, Zverev is a client of the Team 8 agency, which was once founded by Roger Federer and his manager Tony Godsick. Even with Godsick's help, Zverev should find more stability and sovereignty and work on his tennis boom without any problems. But now the rather selfish images of Zverev, and not just him, have buried themselves in the collective mind during the first tennis relaxation exercises. The German, who has been the number 1 in the industry since he was a junior, is again under extremely critical observation - on and next to the Center Court.
The project of a working partnership with Ferrer, the Spanish marvel of days gone by, almost seems like an attempt to create new content about Zverev. Zverev had already tried one from the Spanish tennis armada before, from spring 2017 to the start of the 2018 season, Juan Carlos Ferrero was at Hamburg's side. But there was little match in this liasion, Zverev later complained that the former world rankings first Ferrero wanted to make him a "calm, balanced guy": "But I was never. And I will never be. ”Ferrero accused Zverev of always being unpunctual and disrespectful at all. "High-quality training" was never possible, there were always distractions, "Social media, calls, friends who showed up." Younger players like Zverev have a mentality problem: "Earning a lot of money when you are young can make you dizzy . "
And now Ferrer, the marathon man who literally fought to the point in every match. It does not seem plausible that the brave fighter could have more influence on Zverev's game and behavior than Ferrero or Grand Master Ivan Lendl. Zverev and Ferrer want to test for two weeks whether the future together could promise something profitable. But maybe the whole thing remains just a small distraction after the big, alien sports storm in the Corona summer.