Alexander Zverev: "I'm in a hole and I don't know how to get out"
Alexander Zverev is in the first real crisis of his career. After the early end of the ATP tournament in Barcelona, the German young star seems increasingly helpless.
by SID
last edit: Apr 24, 2019, 05:25 pm
Alexander Zverev did not even look for evasions after the new blow to the neck. "I'm in a hole and I don't know how to get out," the German tennis star admitted frankly. After losing his opening match against the largely unknown Chilean Nicolas Jarry at the ATP tournament in Barcelona, Zverev is finally in the first real crisis of his career - and is increasingly perplexed.
The 6: 3, 5: 7, 6: 7 (5: 7) defeat in the second round was the fifth early retirement for 22-year-old Zverev. Since reaching the final in Acapulco, Mexico in early March, Zverev has lost six of nine matches. "I just play badly, that's no secret," he said soberly: "I can't make a single impressive blow, do one backhand after the other, make double mistakes."
Ivan Lendl prevented due to allergies
Zverev had subsequently registered for Barcelona to get more security through additional matches - as was the case two weeks earlier in Marrakech, Morocco. But if you lose too early, you won't get any practice. And while the bankruptcies in early spring could still be explained with thigh problems, the consequences of a foot injury or an infection and its aftermath, Zverev is slowly running out of arguments.
To make matters worse, he can currently only get help from his "super coach" Ivan Lendl, who was committed last year. "He cannot be in Europe in the spring because he has strong pollen allergies," Zverev told Sport Bild . Another construction site opens up next to the square where Zverev is in a legal dispute with his ex-manager Patricio Apey (53).
If the native of Hamburg does not get his problems under control soon, he also faces a bad crash in the world rankings. He has an enormous number of points to defend at the clay court tournament in the coming week in Munich and the Masters in Madrid, which he won each year last year, and at the subsequent Masters in Rome, where he was in the final. Zverev is still third, which hardly reflects his current level of performance.
Celebrity doubles on Friday with Söder and Gercke
The annual ranking, on the other hand, already reveals how Zverev's form actually is. In qualifying for the ATP final for the top eight players in London, he currently ranks above the top 20. It is the event with which Zverev supposedly celebrated his final breakthrough at the end of 2018.
To get back to this level, Zverev needs to stabilize as quickly as possible. This is only possible through matches. After all: Due to his early retirement in Barcelona, he now theoretically has time to compete with Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder in a celebrity double with top model Lena Gercke scheduled for Friday in Munich. Whether this also counts as game practice, however, can be doubted.