With old friends into the new year: Alexander Zverev is waiting for "the highlight of my life"
WhatsApp chat with colleagues, anticipation for the first child and no thought of visiting the hairdresser: Alexander Zverev approaches the tennis year 2021 with great serenity.
by SID
last edit: Jan 24, 2021, 01:22 pm
The daily routine is clear. "I can't do much," says Alexander Zverev about the two-week quarantine ahead of the Australian Open in Melbourne. Two exercise bikes in the hotel room, a PlayStation and a WhatsApp group with the other German tennis professionals, that was it with the leisure activities. After all: "I can always see my brother Mischa, there is a connecting door between our rooms," said Zverev in an interview with Bild am Sonntag .
And that is not entirely unimportant, because Mischa, who is ten years older, has been responsible for the management of the worldnumber seven since therecent separation from Roger Federer's agency "Team8" . The boss at Zverev is by no means Mischa. "My boss? We all laugh at each other, I think," said Alexander: "We'll just take the business more into our hands, and Misha will help me." Sergej Bubka junior, son of the pole vault legend of the same name, is also involved in the Inner Circle: "They are the right people, they act in my interests."
Zverev trainer Boris Becker? "Not an issue for the next few months"
And because father Alexander senior is in charge again in daily training, Boris Becker, who has been repeatedly brought into play by DTB Vice President Dirk Hordorff, is not an option in Team Zverev, at least for the moment. "We have been talking to Boris for years," said Alexander of the BamS : "We have very good contacts. But that will not be an issue for the next few months."
The fact that the coaching question at Zverev became topical again was a result of the surprising separation from the Spaniard David Ferrer. "I loved David as a coach," said the world number seven: "Apart from my father, he was the best coach I have ever had. Our personality matched very well." Corona was the problem then: "He wanted to be more with his family. I can understand that, but we left everything open for the future."
Zverev's child: "Highlight of my life"
The term "family" may also have a whole new meaning for Alexander Zverev this year, because his former partner Brenda Patea is expecting their first child together in February. A milestone that Zverev says he is looking forward to more than the long-awaited first Grand Slam victory: "That is a very special feeling for everyone in the world. It will be the highlight of my life." He already knows the sex of the child, but "we have decided not to say it yet".
Another ex-girlfriend accuses Zverev of physical violence, an accusation that the 23-year-old vehemently denies. There was nothing about it, but unfortunately "nowadays, with the force of social media, you can assign anything to anyone". Nevertheless, he decided to remain silent, because "the more I talk, the bigger and longer the story would drag on".
And that's why Zverev prefers to think about the birth of his child and his sporting future. Zverev sees it completely unpretentious that in Corona times his already lush head hair sprawls in all directions without the hairdresser, which is not possible in quarantine: "Anyone who knows me knows that I don't really care about my hair. I just leave it grow, and what they look like, they look like. "