No new coach, no excuses: Alexander Zverev wants to find himself
After a miserable start to the season, Alexander Zverev prepared for the Australian Open with a lot of training. He wants to ignore Boris Becker's advice.
by SID
last edit: Jan 20, 2020, 10:39 am
Alexander Zverev was suspiciously in a good mood. The situation is somewhat serious. The best German tennis player has, to say the least, messed up the start of the new season. At the ATP Cup, the new national tournament at the beginning of the year, he lost his three matches under sometimes irritating circumstances. He chopped his racket short and small, he argued with his father - and had to hear from Boris Becker again that he needed a new coach.
In short, Zverev would have every reason to be in a really bad mood before his opening match at the Australian Open (January 20 to February 2) against Marco Cecchinato (Italy) on Tuesday. But he didn't. On the contrary. Only once did his expression turn a little dark before the start of the tournament: when he was supposed to comment on the statements made by Becker, who was his team captain at the ATP Cup. A trainer? He doesn't need it, says Zverev, "I have the impression that I have to find my tennis on the court myself."
Zverev (22) doesn't like to pretend his poor performance in Brisbane. The world ranked seventh said that he had "never played so badly before a Grand Slam". He also has a few explanations for this: The preparation for the new season was a bit short, it started a good ten days later than usual. In Brisbane Zverev caught a mild cold with a cough. And he had not yet adapted to the slightly changed viewing habits after his eye surgery. "It all played a small role."
However: These are only explanations, not excuses, Zverev emphasized. "At the end of the day it was all my decisions and I can't blame anyone for it," he knows - and he concludes that it would have been no different under a coach other than his father Alexander senior. Zverev signals: I trust my team, whose members actually do their job "better than they have to do it". And that's why: "It's not because of them, it's because of me."
Zverev: "Have more confidence than at the ATP Cup"
Self-knowledge is known to be the first way to improve, but whether it occurs even after a hard week of training is not certain. During the weekend sessions, first with Argentinian Diego Schwartzman, then with his compatriot Leonardo Mayer, Zverev sometimes shuffled his shoulders and head bowed when he failed to strike. Pictures that did not match what he had previously assured: "I have more confidence than at the ATP Cup, that's for sure."
Given his miserable start to the season, Zverev does not want to commit to a forecast for Melbourne, where he reached the round of 16 last year. He hopes to be able to play into the tournament, "maybe I can get through a few matches ...". Maybe. "I know," says Zverev, "I'm probably not the favorite for the title, others are just playing better at the moment." But who knows: "Maybe we'll be sitting here in two weeks, and I'll have an interview after the semi-finals."
Maybe. Because the nice thing about tennis, as Zverev said in the last week on social networks, is: "Every week is a new beginning."