Alexander Zverev is the first challenger from Djokovic to New York
With his triumph at the Masters in Cincinnati, Olympic champion Alexander Zverev has become one of the absolute top favorites for the US Open alongside Novak Djokovic .
by SID
last edit: Aug 23, 2021, 03:16 pm
Alexander Zverev sat in a bright yellow Olympic shirt behind his latest trophy, a "flower vase" decorated with green twigs and tennis balls, and refused to be enticed. "I know where I am. I know how I play," said the 24-year-old from Hamburg after his triumph in Cincinnati catapulted himself into one of the closest favorites for the US Open: "And I hope I can Keep working like this and play even better in New York. "
Zverev was bursting with self-confidence, shortly before, at the end of an "unbelievable week", his golden triumph in Tokyo was followed by the next big exclamation mark with the victory at the Masters. But the German top player did not allow himself to be teased out of a real challenge in the direction of tour dominator Novak Djokovic. "I don't want to think too far now," he said: "I won the gold medal and now I've just finished a Masters. Now I'm just looking forward to New York."
The Olympic champion had already flexed his muscles enough in the highly convincing 6: 2, 6: 3 final win against the Russian Andrej Rublew in just 59 minutes. Zverev's maturation process on and off the center courts, his almost triumph last year in Flushing Meadows and, above all, the manner in which he has been successful in recent weeks make him a serious challenger for Djokovic, who has won all three major tournaments of the year and is also the number one title candidate at the US Open next Monday.
Zverev draws level with Becker
"Novak will come back fresh and is of course the favorite," said Zverev, who beat the Serbian world number one in Tokyo. "I'm looking forward to the US Open, but I still have a lot of work ahead of me in the coming week and I have to find my rhythm in New York", emphasized Zverev, who was given another powerful boost by the Olympic Games.
Triumph relieved him of the burden of finally delivering important precious metal. Now in Cincinnati he has climbed past Rafael Nadal to fourth place in the world rankings and, with his fifth title in a Masters tournament, drew level with the German record holder Boris Becker. He couldn't be more confident before the trip to New York.
Cincinnati, where he triumphed as the second German after Becker in 1985, has so far been considered a complicated place for Zverev. At the tournament in Ohio, he had always failed in his opening opponent in six previous participations. "I won my first game here on Wednesday and now I have my first title," he said.
The first title in a Grand Slam also seems tangible for Zverev in this form.