Monday, May 10, 2021
Clear message on ashes
Zverev is working on the super coup after the coup
There are still around three weeks until the French Open. But even now you can’t avoid Alexander Zverev when talking about the favorites for the classic clay court. In Madrid, it crowns a great week – and is rewarded with a small culinary sin.
Alexander Zverev celebrated his next big title very modestly with a small midnight snack. Germany’s tennis star treated himself to burgers, fries and chicken nuggets as a reward, but then the impressive triumph at the Masters in Madrid was already ticked off. After all, it all happens in quick succession, the plane to Rome already took off on Monday morning – for the last important stopover before the big goal of the French Open.
A clear message reached the competition three weeks before the highlight on the red ashes of Paris: In the race for the clay court throne, Zverev is a hot contender this year. “There is little bigger than this title here,” said the 24-year-old proudly with the Madrid golden trophy next to him. Of course, the longed-for first triumph at a Grand Slam would be even bigger, Zverev wants to take the tailwind from Madrid with him to Paris (May 30th to June 13th).
The impressive run in the “Caja Magica” was a big step in the right direction. After the strong performances against clay court king Rafael Nadal (quarter-finals) and his crown prince Dominic Thiem (semi-finals) not everything went well in the final against Italian Matteo Berrettini. But this time Zverev also showed a fighter’s heart and strong nerves – and set a big exclamation mark with the third victory over a top 10 player within three days.
“Rafa is still the big favorite”
“In order to be successful at the French Open, you have to play well beforehand during the clay court season,” emphasized the sixth in the world rankings, and he is getting better and better after recovering from his elbow injury. Nevertheless, he did not want to know anything about being a favorite for Paris. “Rafa is still the big favorite in Roland Garros,” said Zverev after his semi-final victory. Then comes the world number one Novak Djokovic, the number three is US Open Champion Thiem.
But Zverev is lurking. For the fourth time he triumphed in a tournament in the Masters category (three times on clay), the second largest stage after the Grand Slams. He had already won in Madrid in 2018, then reached the finals at the Masters in Rome – but at the climax in Roland Garros the quarter-finals were over. That should be different this year, Zverev is playing much more mature than three years ago.
“I’m looking forward to the next few weeks,” said the US Open finalist after winning the 15th tournament in his career. The second round match against Hugo Dellien (Bolivia) or Adrian Mannarino (France) is expected to take place in Rome on Wednesday. “I also like the tournament in Rome,” said Zverev. He had triumphed in the “Eternal City” in 2017: “I want to show my best tennis again.”
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