Australian Open: Out by Alexander Zverev with big question marks
The round of 16 elimination of German number one Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open against Denis Shapovalov leaves the fans questioning.
by SID/red
last edit: Jan 23, 2022, 12:58 pm
Alexander Zverev sat there like a heap of misery. The Olympic champion buried his face behind his hands, bit his fingernails and repeatedly rubbed his eyes in bitter disappointment. Then he let his frustration run wild. "I just had a shitty week," he said after his crashing round of 16 knockout at the Australian Open: "It was terrible of me. There are no excuses."
A mysterious appearance and the next Grand Slam bankruptcy against a top player were behind Zverev, his relentless self-criticism was tough. The 24-year-old competed in Melbourne with the aim of finally winning his first major and becoming number one in the world. After a passive and tension-free performance at 3: 6, 6: 7 (5: 7), 3: 6 against the Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who was anything but brilliant, he didn't want to know anything about that anymore.
Zverev seemed mentally drained
"It's silly to talk about it at the moment," said Zverev, who hadn't convinced in the previous matches and after the "tough gossip" also heard clear criticism from six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker. "You can lose, you can also play badly," said Becker at Eurosport: "But you can always make an effort and leave your soul on the pitch. We missed that today." Zverev looked mentally drained on a hot day in Melbourne, not ready for a big fight.
For the German number one it is a sensitive setback. After gold in Tokyo and the triumph at the ATP Finals in Turin, Zverev was voted Germany's athlete of the year at the end of 2021 and declared with confidence that he would continue to dominate the world number one Novak Djokovic in 2022, from the US Open -Champion Daniil Medvedev and count himself. From this list, only Medvedev could still hold the trophy in Melbourne.
Zverev must "take responsibility"
Zverev, on the other hand, will continue to be confronted with his lousy odds against top players in Grand Slam tournaments. The third in the world rankings has only won one of the past eight matches against professionals in the top 20, overall he has a balance of 4:15 in these statistics. Against opponents from the top 10, things are even bleaker. Zverev always emphasizes that he is not impressed by these numbers. When it comes to three winning sets, however, he often lacks that certain something.
The service giant had traveled to Australia in the belief that it was his turn to play the four biggest tournaments of the year. But instead, after the surprising end, he announced that he would think about himself and his mistakes. "As number three in the world rankings, I have to take responsibility for the things I do," said Zverev: "I will still do everything I can to lift a Grand Slam trophy at some point." The "terrible" performance against Shapovalov should teach him a lesson.
Here is the men's individual tableau
laver arena