Australian Open: "Idiot" Zverev hot for Alcaraz after the next crime thriller - "I feel good"
Alexander Zverev is in the quarter-finals in Melbourne after the next crime thriller - but needs a clear improvement to have a chance against Carlos Alcaraz .
by SID
last edit: Jan 22, 2024, 01:33 pm
After his next marathon match, Alexander Zverev immediately received a scolding from his father. "He said: 'You idiot, you could have easily won in three sets. Then we could have celebrated my birthday,'" said Zverev humorously after his five-set thriller in the round of 16 of the Australian Open. It was his dad's birthday on Monday simply forgotten.
“I’ll get something else,” Zverev announced, even if his quarter-final entry in Melbourne was gift enough. That's how he worked out a real highlight match for himself and his family against the Spanish superstar Carlos Alcaraz - in which the Hamburg native is the underdog after his fluctuating performances at the first major tournament of the year.
Improvement against Alcaraz necessary
First of all, Zverev was happy to still be in the tournament after a thriller. "At the end of the day it's a Grand Slam, everyone is playing their best tennis here. I'm just happy to be through," said Zverev after his four-hour show of strength at 7:5, 3:6, 6:3, 4: 6, 7:6 (10:3) against Briton Cameron Norrie.
Zverev urgently needs to improve against Alcaraz, who easily won his round of 16 on Monday 6:4, 6:4, 6:0 against the Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic - also because he was on the court significantly longer in his four tournament games than the Wimbledon winner.
Alcaraz is also looking forward to the showdown
"When you play less, you're fresher. But I feel good. I don't feel like I did at the US Open, where I was completely dead," said Zverev, who was clearly inferior to Alcaraz in the quarterfinals. At the ATP Finals in November, the German number one had the upper hand.
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Alcaraz is a player of the "new generation, he is very successful. The Australians don't know him that well yet, but they will get to know him well over the next 25 years," said the Hamburg player: "But I hope this is my day in the quarter-finals ." Alcaraz is also looking forward to the showdown: "I love playing against him. It will be a great match for the spectators. I will give 100 percent," said Alcaraz.
Third quarter-final in Melbourne
Zverev had a flawless record of four wins and 8-0 sets against Norrie before the round of 16 game, but that didn't help him on Monday. As in the second round, the Olympic champion had to go into the match tiebreak of the fifth set against the Slovakian qualifier Lukas Klein. In the end, he had the upper hand again with strong nerves and made the third quarter-final in Melbourne perfect in his career.
“You have to turn your head off, think about the next shot and the next point,” said Zverev at Eurosport when he converted his first match point after 4:05 hours. As sixth in the world rankings, on paper he is actually one of the extended favorites Down Under - but he can no longer afford to fluctuate against Alcaraz.
Here is the individual tableau in Melbourne.
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