ATP Montreal: Without Zverev, Thiem & Co - dreary prospects for German-speaking tennis fans
In the main field of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal you will look in vain for German-speaking starters. A sad reality when Dominic Thiem , Alexander Zverev and Roger Federer are absent from the ATP tour.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Aug 06, 2022, 07:06 pm
Only Stan Wawrinka holds up the flag at the ATP Masters 1000 event for the Alps triangle, Austria, Germany, Switzerland. However, if the sympathy of the inclined tennis fan is only constituted by their mother tongue, then the three-time Grand Slam champion should - strictly speaking - not even be used for this list. Because: Stan Wawrinka was born in the French part of Switzerland, specifically Lausanne.
On the other hand, you will look in vain for German and Austrian starters in the main field of the hard court classic in Montreal. Dominic Thiem is currently taking a few more days to get competitive on hard court. Alexander Zverev, on the other hand, is still suffering from the foot injury that the native of Hamburg sustained in the semifinals of the French Open at the end of the third set against Rafael Nadal.
Altmaier and Huesler in the qualification
And otherwise? It just looks sad for German-speaking tennis fans on the big tennis stage. Oscar Otte, after all current number 41 in the world, is still out of action after knee surgery, but is hoping to return to the US Open, as the German recently explained in an interview with tennisnet.com . Daniel Altmaier, the next DTB man, only follows in world ranking 79th. The 23-year-old is at least fighting his way through qualifying in Montreal.
There, too, Altmaier will be able to talk almost exclusively with his coaching team in his native language, is the world number 79. but the only starter from Germany or Austria. The Alpine Republic is currently simply missing a player with an adequate ranking to be able to take part in the biggest events: With 137th place, the surprise man from Kitzbühel, Filip Misolic, is currently number one in the country. With this placement, however, it is not (yet) an issue for a tournament in the ATP Masters 1000 category.
Hopes rest on Thiem, Zverev, Federer
Only Marc-Andrea Huesler could be there at the breakfast table for a chat with Altmaier, the Swiss native who was born in Zurich speaks German as a native. Of course, the pure mother tongue is of course completely irrelevant, but the ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal clearly shows: German-speaking tennis still needs many good years from Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem and a successful return as well as postponed retirement by Roger Federer would be everything other than averse.
It's a good thing that this will still be around for some time. After the first serious injury in his career, Alexander Zverev will return to the ATP tour in a few weeks at the age of 25. And certainly highly motivated. Dominic Thiem has already completed the first (and undoubtedly the most difficult) stage of his comeback path and made us want more, especially in Gstaad and Bastad. And Roger Federer is Roger Federer. Even at the age of 40, 41 years. Point.