Olympia 2020: Alexander Zverev - "Proudest moment of my career"
Novak Djokovic defeated, medal secured - after an evening of great emotions, Alexander Zverev can now gild his Olympic dream.
by SID
last edit: Jul 30, 2021, 06:42 pm
Isolated from the curious glances of this world, buried his head under a towel, Alexander Zverev was all alone with himself and his tears of happiness. For a long time the tennis star crouched on a small bench in the abandoned Ariake Coliseum and tried to somehow grasp the dimension of the memorable moment. This masterpiece against the seemingly indomitable Novak Djokovic, the fulfilled dream of an Olympic medal - and the great chance for gold.
"This is one of the proudest moments of my career - if not the proudest," said Zverev, totally moved after he burst Djokovic's dream of the Golden Slam like a soap bubble in the semi-finals in Tokyo and placed himself on the threshold of Olympus. "I've now won a medal for Germany," said the number five in the world: "It's an incredible feeling."
With the impending defeat in mind, Zverev had swept the seemingly overpowering Serbs off the pitch after an amazing comeback with 1: 6, 6: 3, 6: 1, on Sunday he can even gold his Olympic dream. The 24-year-old from Hamburg is the favorite in the final against Karen Chatschanow (ROC) and can become the first German ever to become Olympic champion in men's singles.
Brother Mischa Zverev also has to cry
But even the thought of the safe silver medal caused a whirlwind of emotions at Zverev - because the Olympics have a completely different status than the lonely hunt for Grand Slam victories. "You don't just play for yourself here. You play for all the athletes who are in the village, for everyone who watches at home, and generally for Germany," he said.
"Maybe," he added, Olympic gold would mean more to him than a win at Wimbledon. His brother and most important companion, Mischa, also fought in the Eurosport studio in Munich with tears of emotion and a halting voice. "Stop crying," the younger brother called to him in a switch, "one in the family is enough."
The dream of gold almost seemed to have burst. With set and break Zverev was behind, frustrated, he punched his racket on the court, fired a ball in exasperation at the upper ranks - and suddenly played like a changed man. He won eight (!) Games in a row, with every point his chest broadened - Djokovic has not been seen so helpless for a long time
"It is unbelievable to defeat what is undoubtedly the best player in the world at the moment," said Zverev: "It seemed impossible to beat him at this tournament." Because Djokovic reached for such bright stars in Tokyo as no one before. But now Steffi Graf remains the only tennis professional who managed the so-called Golden Slam, winning all four Grand Slam tournaments and the Olympic gold medal in one calendar year.