Australian Open: Alexander Zverev after "work victory" over Albot: "Opponents are getting tougher"
Alexander Zverev reached the round of 16 in Melbourne at the Australian Open without shining. From now on, however, other calibers will come to the third in the world rankings.
by SID/red
last edit: Jan 22, 2022, 11:29 am
Alexander Zverev clasped his hands imploringly, shouted loudly in Russian and even threw his bat to the ground - but a little later he was joking again. "I'll probably get drunk in the evening," said the tennis Olympic champion after his lackluster entry into the round of 16 at the Australian Open in the winner's interview when asked about his free time plans: "That's supposed to be very popular here in Australia". The fans in the John Cain Arena cheered.
Previously, Zverev had not spoiled the audience with his best tennis in the "work victory" against qualifier Radu Albot, but in the end he didn't care - the next step in the title hunt in Melbourne has been taken. "I struggled a bit on the court, I didn't feel perfect," said the Hamburger after the 6: 3, 6: 4, 6: 4 about the Moldovan: "But who is perfect? I won, and I'm happy about that."
Zverev now against Shapovalov
But because Zverev has a penchant for perfection, he put in an - almost typical - training session immediately after the match. "I do it to get my rhythm," he said: "I got through the first week without losing a set. That's positive. I'm still full of energy, but the next opponents will be tougher."
Significantly harder. In the round of the last 16, Zverev will meet the lively Canadian Denis Shapovalov on Sunday, who is ranked 14th in the ATP world rankings - and only suffered one defeat in 2022. The record against the 22-year-old should be positive for Zverev, four of the previous six duels went to the native of Hamburg. In the last encounters, the German had a hard time with Shapovalov: in 2019 and 2020 there were two defeats for Zverev, in the last match of the two in 2021 Zverev left the place as the winner after an epic fight in three sets.
Zverev looks towards the title
The duel with Shapovalov at the Australian Open 2022 should of course only be a stopover for Zverev on his way to the long-awaited first Grand Slam title. "Hopefully there will be four more good matches for me," said Zverev after his third-round success over Radu Albot. If it is enough for the big major throw, the German will probably have to get rid of Rafael Nadal, who presented himself in an excellent mood against Karen Khachanov in round three.
However, the German will by no means underestimate the 20-time major winner from Mallorca in a possible encounter. During a training session in the run-up to the tournament, Nadal had already given Zverev the impression that he was quite good for the big hit Down Under. The opponents, there's no question, they're getting stronger.