Alexander Zverev feels the tingling: "I missed it"
Alexander Zverev is about to make a comeback in Saudi Arabia. The Olympic champion has a long ordeal behind him.
by Stefan Bergmann
last edit: Dec 07, 2022, 06:53 pm
Alexander Zverev whipped the balls across Diriyah's center court in the blue and red dress and felt that special tingling again. "Being on the pitch with the best players in the world is something I was really looking forward to," said the Olympic champion shortly before the end of his long period of suffering: "I haven't played for seven months and I missed it."
At the Diriyah Tennis Cup, a highly endowed and quite controversial invitation event in Saudi Arabia, the forced break of the German number one should finally come to an end on Thursday. For Zverev, the sportingly insignificant tournament is an important endurance test - he wants to feel that his ankle can withstand the high loads again.
First location determination
The Hamburger had broken off the first comeback attempt after the serious injury in the semifinals of the French Open in September shortly before the Davis Cup group phase in his hometown. Bone edema forced the 25-year-old to be even more patient, and he dropped out of the top ten for the first time in five years. And he had to watch a next-generation player triumph at the US Open in Carlos Alcaraz.
Zverev, who also caught Corona in November, will have to make his way back to the top of the world at the beginning of the new season, if his body is up to it. The games in Saudi Arabia give him a first indication of how big his deficit is about a month before the Australian Open.
Main goal: play pain free
"My goals are still to win the big tournaments and be at the top of the world rankings," said the former second in the world rankings on Sky: "But my first goal is to be healthy and play without pain. That's my main goal at the moment ."
At the hard court tournament in Diriyah, Zverev meets prominent colleagues. Former world number one Daniil Medvedev (Russia) is there, as is Bad Boy and Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios (Australia), former French Open finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) and Dominic Thiem (Austria). The winner receives a prize money of one million dollars.
Zverev would probably be even more valuable if he realized that his body was holding up again. Because the time without tennis was far too long for the top German player.