ATP Masters Madrid: Alexander Zverev after success over Rafael Nadal - "Definitely one of the greatest victories of my career"
Alexander Zverev is in the semifinals of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid after a two-set victory over Rafael Nadal. After the game, the German number one was extremely satisfied with their performance.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: May 07, 2021, 06:26 pm
As against Kei Nishikori and Dan Evans, the start for Alexander Zverev in his quarter-final duel against Rafael Nadal was not made to measure. The Spanish clay court king managed the first break to 4-2 and despite a subsequent rebreak by the German, the local hero still seemed to have the upper hand.
So it was not surprising that Nadal found an opportunity in the next service game to take Zverev's serve again. But then the 34-year-old made an unusually slight forehand error. A forehand error that the eventual winner should describe as a "key moment" after the match.
Zverev keeps a cool head
"That changed the momentum a bit. After that I became more aggressive from point to point. After that I felt good on the court," explained Zverev. He had built up the pressure himself and decided the game with his winners. "I had the feeling that I won the match myself. It's a relatively pleasant feeling when you play against Nadal," said the world number six.
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Even the frenetic attempts by the Spaniards to cheer Zverev at no point in the encounter upset. Not least because of this, the native of Hamburg ranked the 6: 4 and 6: 4 success high: "To beat him at home in Spain is unbelievable."
Zverev against Nadal with three wins in a row
"This is definitely one of the biggest victories of my career so far. Especially on clay against Rafa. As I said, this is the most difficult thing in our sport," stated Zverev, who is already the third win in a row against the 20-time Grand -Slam winner and after Djokovic on hard court and Federer on grass, the third member of the "Big Three" hit his favorite surface.
However, the 24-year-old did not want to attach too much importance to the success over Nadal. Because on Saturday Zverev in the Spanish capital with the Austrian Dominic Thiem is already waiting for the next big challenge: "The tournament is not over yet."
Here the single tableau in Madrid
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