A season full of setbacks
Zverev and Kerber in an urgent search for success
4/18/2022 1:34 p.m
So far this season, Angelique Kerber and Alexander Zverev have been frustrating. At the tournaments in Stuttgart and Munich, the picture should change for the two best German tennis professionals. But it will be anything but easy, especially for Kerber.
Angelique Kerber returned disappointed from the unsuccessful trip to Kazakhstan, Alexander Zverev struggled with the next setback in his adopted homeland. For the two best German tennis pros, the first tournaments of the year in Germany should bring the trend reversal of a difficult season. Kerber is facing the next difficult task this week in Stuttgart right at the start, Zverev wants to recover from his thigh injury in the coming days before the first appearance in Munich.
“Things continue to happen that are a little out of my control, which is annoying for me,” said Zverev after his clear semifinals in two sets against tournament winner Stefanos Tsitsipas at the weekend at the ATP Masters in Monte Carlo. “It’s disappointing, now I have to try to regenerate again, which I’m starting to think is a bit stupid. I was ill in Miami, now I have a muscle injury. It’s not going really well this year.”
The third in the world rankings also confirmed when asked by the pay-TV broadcaster Sky that he would continue to compete next week in Munich (April 25 to May 1) and then at the tournaments in Madrid and Rome. It was already clear before his injury that Zverev would skip the clay court event in Barcelona around his 25th birthday on Wednesday.
Kerber is also far from top form
After the most successful year of his career with six tournament victories including winning the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo 2021, Zverev is still waiting for his first big success this season. Among other things, he made headlines with his freak out against a referee in Acapulco. In the principality, the man from Hamburg had to admit a clear sporting defeat to the Greek Tsitsipas, who was currently outstanding on sand, 4: 6, 2: 6. “It’s clear that the better player won. It’s also relatively clear that my thigh played a role,” said Zverev.
Kerber suffered narrower but no less annoying defeats in the 1: 3 of the German tennis women in the Billie Jean King Cup. The 34-year-old lost her two singles against the Kazakhs in three sets each, so that the selection of the German Tennis Association on 11./12. November against the first relegation in a decade in what was then called the Fed Cup.
On the way to the French Open in just over a month, Kerber now wants to get closer to top form in Stuttgart. The tournament, which she won twice, is threatened with an early end: the world number 17 scores in the first round. on fifth seeded Annet Kontaveit from Estonia. In her career, Kerber has only won one of the previous five games against the 26-year-old. “Strong opponents are always an additional motivation for me,” emphasized Kerber in view of the strong field with seven players in the current top ten. “It’s a challenge I’m really looking forward to.”