Australian Open: Zverev in Melbourne - "More trained than anyone else"
After his poor performance at the ATP Cup in Brisbane before the Australian Open in Melbourne (January 20 to February 2), Alexander Zverev put in extra shifts in training.
by SID
last edit: Jan 17, 2020, 04:41 pm
"I worked hard. I trained more than anyone else this week, five, six, seven hours a day," said the Hamburger on Friday. Zverev came to Melbourne after his three losses at the ATP Cup on Sunday.
"In Brisbane, I really didn't know what to do," said the world number seven. "I was hectic, I was restless, I had problems that I couldn't solve." The 22-year-old added that he had "never played so badly before a Grand Slam". In the three defeats in the preliminary round of the ATP Cup, his serve had let him down. In contrast, his service had worked again in the past few days, he emphasized.
Boris Becker encouraged Zverev before the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. "He is still one of the best tennis players in the world, he didn't forget that overnight," said the 52-year-old at Eurosport.de: "That the expectations this time, not least from the side of some experts, cannot be that high help him."
Zverev wants to find his tennis himself
Under the impressions of the ATP Cup Zverev, Becker had suggested looking for a new coach. For the time being, however, the German number one will forego this. "I have the impression that I have to find my tennis on the court myself," said Zverev, who trusted the team around his father.
Zverev will face Italian Marco Cecchinato in his first match at Melbourne Park on Tuesday. However, Zverev emphasized that he would not look at the further draw, which he had always made in the past. This time he would think of "match to match".