US Open: Alexander Zverev and the back as a problem child - "I don't know what's going on either"
Alexander Zverev apparently has back problems before his eagerly anticipated semi-final duel against Novak Djokovic.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Sep 09, 2021, 07:31 pm
So far, Alexander Zverev has plowed through the US Open in an impressive manner and only made a single sentence on the way to the semifinals. So one should think that everything is good with German. But one thing should give the world number four next to his semi-final opponent Novak Djokovic a headache: In the quarter-finals against Lloyd Harris, Zverev had to struggle with back problems.
When the score was 2-0 and 30-0, the reigning Olympic champion grabbed his back with his left hand. In the subsequent conversation at Eurosport, Zverev was a bit puzzled about the pain: "My back has become stiff. I don't know what either is going on. I had such a strange feeling in the first sentence, it didn't get any better. Now I'm sitting here on the chair, but I'm relatively stiff. "
Physiotherapist Hugo Gravil will "probably look at the problem now," said Zverev. Even before his round of 16 against Jannik Sinner, the 24-year-old had to struggle with similar problems and stopped training before the match.
To what extent the injury concerns will change the initial situation before the dream semi-final against Djokovic is difficult to assess. For Zverev, there is also reason to hope: The German is probably in the shape of his life and has been unbeaten in 16 games - including a victory against the Serbian world number one at the Olympic Games in Tokyo .
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