Alexander Zverev shines with a short comeback: "Haven't seen it for months"
Alexander Zverev celebrated his comeback at the controversial show tournament in Saudi Arabia. The Olympic champion still has a lot of work to do before the Australian Open in January.
by SID
last edit: Dec 08, 2022, 10:13 pm
Alexander Zverev beamed all over his face and waved at the few spectators on Diriyah's center court. "I was extremely nervous, but excitedly nervous," said the Olympic champion: "I haven't experienced this feeling for months." Zverev also accepted the subsequent end in the quarterfinals with a smile. The return was successful.
188 days after his fatal fall at the French Open, Zverev only won a shortened match at the sportingly meaningless and controversial show tournament in Saudi Arabia. The 0: 6, 4: 6 against the Russian Daniil Medvedev on Thursday evening showed the lack of match practice. But the 25-year-old was clearly enjoying the moments of the comeback he had been working towards for so long.
Zverev "simply happy" about his return
"To be honest, I was just happy to be back on the pitch and largely pain-free," said Zverev after the 10: 8, 10: 7 win in a match tie break format against his Austrian buddy Dominic Thiem: "It's not an ATP tournament or Grand Slam, but it's a nice feeling to be back in a competition."
Zverev played with a bandaged foot against Thiem, whom he narrowly lost in the 2020 US Open final, but moved well. In his own service in particular, he radiated the dominance that had taken him to second place in the world rankings. On Friday he can at least continue to work on his form in doubles alongside Thiem, the first highlight of the coming season, the Australian Open in Melbourne, is only five weeks away.
Zverev canceled his first comeback attempt in September shortly before the Davis Cup group phase in his hometown of Hamburg. Bone edema forced him to end the season early, he dropped out of the top ten for the first time in five years and needed a lot of patience. "It wasn't an easy time for me. I missed the tennis tour, the tournaments. I missed interviews, I really missed everything," said Zverev at Eurosport.
Zverev talks about "huge difference"
When he was able to walk again for the first time, "it was as if I had won the biggest tournament in the world," added the German number one: "Things that you could do for a lifetime were suddenly something special. That's it Huge difference between after the injury and before the injury."
At the financially lucrative tournament in Saudi Arabia - a country that, according to human rights organizations, disregards basic rights - Zverev is now taking his first steps back into the competition. And above all, he wishes that his ankle, which is now under strain, will hold and allow him to attack the top of the world again and his first Grand Slam title: "I hope that it gets better every day and that it will be there at the Australian Open, like I want it." There is still about a month until then.