US Open: Alexander Zverev - clarified in the new, cold Grand Slam world
Alexander Zverev is in the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the second time this year. Against Pablo Carreno Busta, Zverev is the favorite on Friday to make it into the final of the US Open 2020.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit:
Sep 09, 2020, 11:27 am
It is a cold Grand Slam world in which the great traveling circus of tennis is now in New York. But in this completely different universe, of all places, in the silence, in the loneliness, in the sober businesslike nature of the US Open 2020, Alexander Zverev has discovered a new inner balance - a mental balance that will now also make him into the first semifinals of his career in Big Apple has worn. "Somehow everything bounces off me," says the 23-year-old from Hamburg, whose last victory, the 1: 6, 7: 6 (5), 7: 6 (1), 6: 3 in the quarter-finals against Croatian Borna Coric was symptomatic of the balance in difficult times. Zverev even put away a 1: 6, 2: 4 deficit like a born stoic and turned the game that was believed to be lost in the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Now in the round of the last four he will meet surprise man Pablo Carreno Busta, who benefited from the disqualification scandal surrounding Novak Djokovic in the round of 16 on Sunday and then defeated the young Canadian Denis Shapovalov in five contested sets. "Everyone is hungry for this victory," says Zverev, the first German semi-finalist since Boris Becker in 1995. "The hardest is yet to come."
Strange Grand Slam moments are what you are currently experiencing at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center. The big emotions, the stirring center court scenes, the wild emotional outbursts of the special New York fans are missing. At this US Open, none of the stars and superstars play into a frenzy, it is more important to master this special atmosphere, the sterility of the entire venue. And of all people, the previously rather complicated Zverev succeeds surprisingly well in controlling himself in the strange environment, despite all the problems, finding the right balance and center in a very clear manner. Zverev looks like someone who trusts himself after the long forced break and a massive amount of training and is almost at rest. Who doesn't even seriously doubt when things get tough for him. “I'm pretty relaxed. I know that I have a good foundation, ”he says.
Becker - "Zverev is always in control"
Like a Grand Slam employee, Germans come to work every few days and do the job. There is no whining and complaining, there are no broken clubs, there is no despair, but also no euphoria. “What impresses me most is how Sascha always maintains control. Control over yourself, ”says Becker, the German men's tennis boss. On Tuesday evening, Becker was “speechless” in between because Zverev had started quite a rumble with no-nonsense tennis. But later he took off his hat to his protégé: “You don't win tournaments like this with beauty prizes. But with games like this one. "
On the one hand, Zverev's tennis year 2020 offered great moments, after the Australian Open at the beginning of the season, he is now back in the elite group of the last four in New York. On the other hand, he was also one of those who made some pitch-black headlines in the Corona crisis, as a reckless contributor to the Adriatic Tour. And with the broken quarantine promise afterwards, in the adopted home of Monte Carlo. At some point in the trials and tribulations, however, Zverev disappeared from the scene and from then on did one thing above all: To stick to the rules of the game, simply to classify himself into the group of sensible colleagues. The punch line of the whole story: Zverev, the guest of Djokovic's controversial exhibition series, could now benefit from the crash of the number one man. He would normally have faced him, the 17-time Grand Slam champion, on Friday. But now Zverev will look at Carren -Busta, the Spanish veteran who, as the last rival, can prevent him from jumping into the final. “It is of course a huge opportunity,” says Zverev, “and I want to use it. Absolutely."
Strong influence from Coach Ferrer
In the early years of his still young career, Zverev was one of the mood players in the industry. The consequence was obvious: if he played well, he usually won. If he played badly, he always lost, 100 percent felt. It always had to do with his emotions, his difficult psyche, his irascibility, his expectations. In many games he made the possible impossible. And not the other way around. Zverev was just not progressing fast enough, it could easily remain hidden from him, as everyone was talking about his enormous potential. And how he, in his own perception, was lagging behind expectations. “I think I've sometimes lacked patience in recent years. It's all more of a marathon - and not a sprint. "
He has now come closer and closer to the great goals. The magical breakthrough is still missing, the first major title. But recently a pretty smart move made an impression. And the hope that Zverev can end the German Grand Slam drought soon. During the Corona break, the 23-year-old hired the former Spanish world-class man and top ten player David Ferrer as the new coach. An unlikely couple at first sight. But Ferrer stands for exactly those qualities that Zverev was missing so far. The unconditional always-on-going mentality, the indefatigability in all tennis situations, the attitude of never, absolutely never to give up in any match. Ferrer is not in New York, Zverev is practically a single fighter, even if he calls the matador of the past days for a long time every day. A piece of his new trainer is suddenly already in the new Zverev.