US Open: Maestro encourages Zverev: "Everything is going well"
Alexander Zverev is fighting not only for moving into the second round of the US Open on Tuesday, but also for the first step out of the crisis. Even superstar Roger Federer gives him courage.
by SID
last edit: Aug 27, 2019, 08:56 am
Even Roger Federer followed Alexander Zverev's bumpy path to the US Open closely. "There are many things going on in the head of a young player," said the Swiss tennis maestro about the troubled German young star, who recently "had a little trouble with his serve". But Federer also had a courage ready: "Everything is going well, it only takes a little time."
Sweden's tennis idol Mats Wilander also encourages him. "It is normal for a small bend to come at some point in a young career," said the seven-time Grand Slam winner to the t-online news portal. "The fact that he has not yet reached the top of the world is anything but a disaster."
Zverev wants to take the next step to the top at the last Grand Slam tournament of the year in New York. However, after difficult weeks before his opening match on Tuesday against Moldovan Radu Albot, the 22-year-old can use any encouragement to regain his confidence.
Radu Albot: "Opponents where you have to win the match yourself"
"It's a difficult first round," said Zverev cautiously. The World Ranking 40. Albot is "an opponent where you have to win the match yourself." Perhaps that was also quite appropriate, said the man from Hamburg, and explained: "If I play well, I will win, and if I play bad, I will lose. But then I also know exactly where I am. That may be a positive thing . "
In any case, Zverev had to "play my best tennis from the first round so that I had a chance" - a thing that he has managed to do too seldom lately. Plagued by the smoldering lawsuit with his ex-manager Patricio Apey and the separation from coach Ivan Lendl, he had acted very unsettled since his first round loss at Wimbledon. The weaknesses at the serve described by Federer illustrated that Zverev's nerve costume is currently an unstable entity.
In the last major endurance test before the US Open in Cincinnati, he made 20 double mistakes in the first round out against Serbian youngster Miomir Kecmanovic. "I'm two meters tall, so 20 double mistakes are impossible," he admitted.
Zverev knows how much he harms his opponent with such free points. "From the baseline, I think I play okay. I return okay, I actually play okay," he said: "But if I serve 20 double mistakes, it will be difficult, no matter against whom."
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Federer: "At Zverev you never know"
He therefore worked a lot with his father on this problem. Alexander senior takes care of his son alone after separating from Lendl in New York, an important factor for the junior. "I trust nobody more than my father," said the ATP champion: "I have to find myself at the moment, and I do it best with what I've known for 20 years, with the people around me who love me know best. "
As soon as self-discovery works, Zverev firmly believes, "I can also win a lot of matches." And Federer has by no means written off the sixth in the world rankings in Flushing Meadows - not only because it has recently been marketed by the management agency of the Swiss. "At Zverev," said the Grand Slam record winner, "you never know."