ATP Montreal: "Art shooter" Zverev with fun in the round of 16
Alexander Zverev was having fun again. This has been rare lately. But in Montreal the Hamburg defended his "white vest" and now has a revenge in front of his chest.
by SID
last edit: Aug 07, 2019, 07:10 pm
Alexander Zverev loves Montreal. In 2017, the Hamburg native won his second ATP Masters in the Canadian city of millions. "I have great memories of that," said Germany's best tennis player after entering the round of 16 on his return and proudly added: "I've never lost here. I hope it stays that way."
On Tuesday, Zverev continued his winning streak. After his free kick at the start, he won against Cameron Norrie 7: 6 (4) and 6: 4. And what was equally important: Zverev had fun again. The 22-year-old rarely knows this feeling from the recent past.
The smoldering legal dispute with his ex-manager Patricio Apey, the separation from coach Ivan Lendl, which was accompanied by a lot of noise. Zverev's joy often fell by the wayside. Most recently she was back at the home tournament at Rothenbaum in Hamburg. Now again in the metropolis of Montreal, which the ATP Masters hosts every two years.
Zverev: Breakthrough at the US Open?
Alexander Zverev enjoyed the performance on "his" court and went to work concentrated from the start - also had time for special contributions. Like the 3-2 score in the second set, when he played the ball backwards through the legs and also got the point after this trick. Zverev wanted his reward: with his finger on his ear, he demanded applause from the audience - and he got it.
"It was fun to play on this pitch again," said number three seeded Zverev after the match, and wanted more: "I hope I can play a lot of games here this week. We'll see how it goes is running, but I'm happy with the start. "
It was fun to play on this course again.
Alexander Zverev
In the back of his mind, Zverev already has the US Open, which starts on August 20. He has big plans there. "I have always said that the US Open this year is the tournament I want to make my breakthrough at," he said at Wimbledon. He feels good on the hard courts in Flushing Meadows, the hectic tournament in the Big Apple is his favorite Grand Slam.
Zverev wants revenge against Basilashvili
But for now, his focus is on Montreal. Zverev, who had a walk-through in the first round, is sure to tackle his upcoming task with particular motivation. He meets Nikoloz Basilashvili. The previous week, Zverev had lost on sand in the Hamburg semi-final in the previous week. It is necessary to pay an open invoice.
Basilashvili had prevailed in the second round against the Warsteiner Jan-Lennard Struff (Warstein) and thus prevented a possible German duel. Peter Gojowczyk was eliminated in round one, the previous week in Washington in the semifinals. The Munich defeated the Croatian Borna Coric at number eleven in the tie break of the third set.