Australian Open: Alexander Zverev - The master plan is missing
According to his ideas at the ATP Cup in Brisbane, Alexander Zverev is not necessarily one of the favorites in the Australian Open 2020 . The problems of the German number one are obvious.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Jan 17, 2020, 08:54 am
When Alexander Zverev slept unsuspectingly in his hotel suite in Hamburg's “Elysee” after one of the hottest summer days last year, his tennis company was shaken by a medium-sized earthquake. Ivan Lendl, the man with whom Zverev marched to the 2018 world champion throne, gave up his duties to the young German without warning, it was an extremely unfriendly act in the middle of a tournament engagement. And as if the separation note at night had not been humiliating enough, Lendl added a few poisoned words: "One day", Zverev could still be a big player, but he struggled with too many problems. The sober end of the resignation declaration sounded like this: “I wish him all the best for the future.
Zverev was grimly angry at the time, he hadn't expected Lendl to have such a silent farewell. But strictly speaking, in those days in July there was a great opportunity for the best and most successful tennis player that Germany has had since the golden days of Boris Becker and Michael Stich. Lendl had also left because he had crossed over with Daddy Zverev, the architect of the success story until then, and the papa and the former world ranking leader had never really worked together. Zverev could have realized, perhaps even should have, that with Lendl's departure, with this significant moment in general, there was an opportunity for a profound new beginning, for a new impulse. Because even then Zverev was in a crisis of meaning, also in a crisis of results, the stagnation in his entire appearance was unmistakable. But what Boris Becker also suggested to him during a conversation during a flying visit to Hamburg through the flower, namely to make himself more independent and much more independent, Zverev fended off with familiar words: his father was also his trainer, there was no reason to admit anything change.
Becker experiences Zverev up close
Barely half a year later, Becker and Zverev were back together, but it was an even more ugly picture than last summer. Because up close, as team manager at the ATP Cup in Brisbane, Australia, Becker witnessed how Zverev lost one game after the other in the newly created competition - and how the 22-year-old top DTB player completely blew the fuses. Nothing remained of the temporary stabilization at his workplace after the change to a new management (the Team8 agency of Federer manager Tony Godsick), the few good results from the fall had long since faded - and what could be viewed instead, that was a man despairing of himself and the tennis world. One who repeatedly asked himself in memorable monologues "what is wrong with me". Or found: "I can not get it anymore." Which meant above all his unstable, frighteningly weak serve. More than two dozen double faults added up after just three competitive games.
At the Australian Open, which starts on Monday, Zverev is and still is Germany's greatest hope for resounding success. His ATP Cup companion Jan-Lennard Struff , last year the player who made the most of his opportunities, got a disaster free, in round one he meets Novak Djokovic , the number one man. For Dominik Koepfer and Philipp Kohlschreiber , the veterans, it's more about selling well and maybe with luck and skill plucking into the second week. With women, one does not know exactly what hopes can be placed on (injured) Angelique Kerber and Julia Görges, behind the years-long duo at the top there is little to nothing.
Feud between Zverev sr. and Ivan Lendl
Zverev would be the figure on which expectations would rightly be projected this year of decision. In 2018, he showed what he can do, and not just at the World Cup in London. That he can keep up with the big players in the industry again and again. But Zverev often played much more aggressively then, also because Lendl whispered that to him. In the chaos of disputes with his old manager Patricio Apey and the feud between Daddy Alexander and Lendl, however, it soon seemed as if an evil spell had wiped out Zverev's magic. The Hamburger was relentlessly presented with a lesson that others had to learn before him: tennis is more than just talent, more than good forehand, the perfect butterfly ball. To get to the top, you need more: the right team at your side, the always new, goal-oriented decisions. The ruthlessness and consistency of separating yourself from those who once played an important role. Your own mental stability. Also the quality of keeping the body in top shape with the help of assistants and doctors. Zverev's German predecessors eventually failed due to this complex set of tasks. Nicolas Kiefer. And also Tommy Haas, who just went public with criticism of Zverev.
After the first few months with new business assistance, with people who should also be career advisors to Zverev, one wonders: Where's the master plan? What was identified as a weakness in 2019, what should be improved and reformed? Is the sports support team right? But the Zverev, which appeared in Brisbane in the first days of January 2020, left a rather depressing impression, namely that one hadn't given much thought to the big picture. And that one had rather believed that everything would be all right, just like that, even against the competition that had long since passed him. New year, new happiness.
But of course Zverev could not shake off what he had given his consent to under gentle pressure: participating in several exhibition fights in South America after the regular 2019 season together with Roger Federer - and the resulting mini-season break, a nervous tension, the realization, simply not to have done enough for 2020. Was and can it be made up for, even before Melbourne. And so quickly afterwards? Becker's analysis that Zverev was trapped in a dark room and now had to find the light switch spoke a rather skeptical language. Not to mention the chancellor's aftermath, namely the remark that Zverev must want this, to find the light, the enlightenment.
Here is the draw for the Australian Open
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