Australian Open: Alexander Zverev - the new efficiency of the Olympic champion
Alexander Zverev has reached the third round of the Australian Open with the second three-set win in a row. The future prospects for the first major of the year are encouraging.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Jan 19, 2022, 03:29 pm
John McEnroe was recently asked why Alexander Zverev has asserted himself so confidently at the top of the tennis world. McEnroe, one of the most brilliant and most complicated players of all time, found a quick answer: "Zverev now makes difficult things look easy," said the 62-year-old American, "he just doesn't waste any more unnecessary energy in the tournaments." Who the German Olympic champion on Center Court on Wednesday, day three of the Australian Open Championships of 2022, did indeed see this 'new Zverev' in action - a mature, efficient, rock-solid man who mastered his otherwise challenging task against local hero John Millmann with a silent precision done. "I'm very satisfied," said the 24-year-old after his two-hour 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 win over the tough fighter Millman, who had internally raised the white flag long before the match point - was too big the superiority of his opponent.
It got lonely around Zverev early on, the German squad Down Under is limited to him, the only world-class player and regular title candidate, and to veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber. Just as Boris Becker and Michael Stich used to hold up the black, red and gold flag as the last German interest group, it is now Zverev on whom all expectations and hopes are concentrated. While he advanced safely into the third round and met Moldovan Radu Albot, a qualifier, on Friday, the campaign of three of Zverev's German companions ended. Karlsruhe's Yannick Hanfmann sold dearly in the Center Court adventure against matador Rafael Nadal, but the 2-6, 3-6, 4-6 loss to the 20-time Grand Slam champion illustrated who set the tone in the game , beat and rhythm. Oscar Otte from Cologne, who surprisingly reached the round of 16 at the US Open last fall, also had to pack his bags after round two – he lost to Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6: 2, 2: 6, 3: 6 and 1: 6. As expected, Dominik Koepfer from Furtwangen lost 4: 6, 3: 6 and 6: 7 (4: 7) to US service giant Reilly Opelka.
Zverev no longer gives away tours
And Zverev? In the early stages of his Grand Slam career, he often had problems managing his physical resources, he often lost a lot of substance in unnecessarily long opening games and then, when it really counted, had no more reserves of strength. But Zverev has long since become an energy savings commissioner: with remarkable self-discipline, the 24-year-old almost always manages to focus on the essentials in the Grand Slam games and avoid unnecessary discussions with referees or skirmishes with fans. Zverev is at work with heart and mind, he has largely turned from a hot-blooded hothead to a representative of positive objectivity - quite imitating industry leaders such as Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. The German has "simply found his way", a "maturity that enables him to be a favourite", wherever he competes, says Australian top coach Darren Cahill - once Andre Agassi's trainer.
If the German lets his powerful physique speak easily and unerringly, with lightning-fast serves and hard groundstrokes, there is little to do. Millman, the experienced tour player, held up well against Zverev, but against his 14 aces, but above all against a win rate of 85 percent on first serves, there was no effective recipe. “That was a lot better than the first match. But I have to and want to keep improving in every round,” said the man from Hamburg, who ended the 2021 season by winning the world championship title in Turin.
In the hunt for the first Grand Slam trophy, he will probably experience the big test early on - in the quarterfinals against bullfighter Nadal, the master of countless comebacks. Zverev knows, however, that it is not worth looking far and even further ahead: two more victories are needed before the potential duel with Nadal. With as little energy consumption as possible. Because it will undoubtedly increase dramatically against the matador.
Here is the individual tableau at the Australian Open
laver arena