ATP Cup: crisis and no end? Zverev needs new impulses
Alexander Zverev has so far made a terrifying impression at the ATP Cup. Germany's number one struggles, flees, rages. Zverev needs new approaches.
by SID
last edit: Jan 06, 2020, 05:52 pm
November 2018, London. Alexander Zverev has just impressively crowned himself the champion of the prestigious ATP finals, when the knighthood follows. "A star has arrived," says Boris Becker with conviction. Great triumphs even at Grand Slam tournaments now seem within reach.
January 2020, Brisbane. Zverev chops his bat, scolds his father and makes an almost tragic figure at the ATP Cup in Australia. Becker, team captain of the German team, experiences up close and powerless how much he was wrong in his forecast.
Zverev without confidence
The Zverev of these days is no longer the self-pumped shooting star, who first triumphed Roger Federer and then Novak Djokovic with his greatest success to date. Zverev is currently struggling too much with himself to believe in great victories. He seems mentally blocked, not ready for the games in the Germany jersey.
"These are not the pictures we want to see from Alexander Zverev," said former Davis Cup captain Patrik Kühnen on Sky Sport News HD. Not only Kühnen sees how caught Zverev is in the situation: "It is important to find a way out. It is difficult, I almost feel sorry for him."
Everything should get better in the new year, Zverev wanted to finally tick off the quarrels from 2019. The exhausting legal battle with ex-manager Patricio Apey, the noisy separation from coach Ivan Lendl, turbulence in love life, the many setbacks at important tournaments. "I had lost the fun. Not just tennis, but everything I did," he told the Guardian: "For a while, I wasn't myself."
Zverev has had a new management since the summer and slipped under the "Team8" agency founded by Federer. The 22-year-old can therefore focus on his core work, he is training with his father again, the shape curve showed a slight upward trend towards the end of last season. The relapse at the beginning of the season hurts. In the final group game at the ATP Cup against Canada he had the chance on Tuesday night (1:00 a.m. / Sky) to at least slightly correct the picture against Denis Shapovalov (ATP-14.).
Recovery too short for Zverev?
Zverev is committed to winning matches against opponents of all calibers. "Nobody in the world puts more pressure on me than I do," he said recently. Given the high mental strain, it might have made more sense to really get away from tennis at the end of 2019. Instead, Zverev played show matches with Federer in South and Central America, followed by an eye surgery in New York. The real recovery period was short.
The appearances in Brisbane, including the derailments, should lead him to question his entire setup again. He needs fresh impulses to regain momentum. "The second serve is a look into the soul of a tennis player," says Becker. Zverev is currently adding double faults to double faults.