Alexander Zverev doesn’t want to be an outsider. Others feel comfortable in the role, Germany’s best tennis player annoys them. From this he draws energy. It doesn’t really need them: In Paris he can reach for the really big triumph.
No, Alexander Zverev doesn’t feel comfortable at all in the role of an outsider. On the contrary: “I know that this motivates him,” said Zverev’s brother and manager Mischa recently at Eurosport. At the French Open in Paris, the most important clay court tournament of the tennis year, Germany’s best tennis player makes strong arguments to take him damn seriously. Most recently, in the round of 16, he swept the former world number four Kei Nishikori 6: 4, 6: 1, 6: 1 from the red ashes of Roland Garros.
The favorites for the French Open title are still Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has regained strength this season, the experts have on the list. In Paris there is even more talk of the Russian Daniil Medvedev. He recently made it very clear in Madrid what he thought of the idea of clay court tennis: “I don’t want to play on this surface,” said the number two in the tennis world. Yes, “I hate sand”. Medvedev had never won a game at Roland Garros until this year, but now the persevering Russian seems to have discovered his love for the hated underground. Medvedev is also in the quarter-finals after three wins. Everyone is in the public eye in front of Zverev.
And that’s a little grotesque. Because the Hamburger is playing consistently at a high level on clay this season, winning in Acapulco and the Masters tournament in Madrid. There he beat the sand overplayer Rafael Nadal in two sets and in the final Matteo Berrettini, French Open quarter-finalist. Zverev “played unbelievably” against Nishikori, said Zverev himself with satisfaction. At the same time he emphasized how much the lack of appreciation annoys him.
“He exudes this strength”
So can, so Zverev has to write the story of the outsider in Paris if he finally wants to win his first Grand Slam title. “I love to convince others when they are not so convinced of me,” said Zverev now. The thing about the lack of appreciation annoys him, but he still refrains from declaring war. “I’m never someone who says I’m the favorite now,” he said after his impressive performance in the round of 16. “I’ll let my tennis do the talking.” He makes that increasingly exciting. “Zverev knows about his strength and brings his horsepower onto the street, onto the field. He knows that he can go far. He exudes this strength,” said three-time Wimbledon winner Boris Becker. Incidentally, he couldn’t win a single clay court tournament during his great career.
Last year, Zverev had already traveled to Paris with the recommendation to participate in the finals at the US Open, in New York he had just missed his first Grand Slam triumph in an epic tennis battle against Austrian Dominic Thiem. On the ashes of Roland Garros, however, it ended early in 2020, in the round of 16, Zverev lost to the Italian whiz kid Jannik Sinner, slowed down by an infection. “I’m completely sick, I can hardly breathe,” he revealed afterwards. And it sparked controversy about how to deal with flu-like symptoms.
In these days in Paris it is now clear that Zverev has gone through a maturation process and appears more professional than in previous years. On the days between games, Zverev always goes to an ice chamber to allow his body to regenerate as well as possible. And the fact that he is now relying exclusively on confidants and family members in his team again seems to be good for him. And then there is also the hunt for the damned first Grand Slam triumph, which costs energy and brings energy: to the spectators, who were sitting by a large distance in Court Suzanne Lenglen because of the pandemic, he recently explained on the stadium microphone that After the unfortunate loss of the US Open final (“two points missing to win”), the ambition continues to drive him. And of course Zverev is still fighting for the recognition and love of tennis fans in his home country: “I was born and raised in Hamburg too. I think of the EM for Germany. I am 100 percent German in everything that is possible,” explained Zverev. Before the tournament starts. So how can he increase popularity at home? “The simplest, but also the most difficult means is to win a Grand Slam.”
“… and then someday I”
A desire for victories, a desire for positive stories, a desire for success and triumph over the doubters – Zverev has it all. Announcements are canceled. “The favorite is still Rafa. Rafa is still the one you have to beat,” said Zverev himself in May in an interview with RTL / ntv. After the Spaniard – who has only lost three games in Paris since 2005, but won the tournament 13 times – then “people like Novak Djokovic (Serbia)”, his Austrian specialist Dominic Thiem “and then probably at some point me”. At least Thiem has long been out.
In the camp of the 24-year-old Zverev, the total focus is currently reigning. Satisfied with an intoxicating match against the Japanese Nishikori, he did not want to linger long: “I still don’t feel any champagne from bottles on my head,” said Zverev. “The tournament is not over yet. I hope I have three more matches here,” said the sixth in the world rankings. “I particularly like his determination today, Sascha leaves no doubt as to why he is on the field. This is how he started the match. Nishikori came back, but Zverev stuck to his appearance,” praised Eurosport expert Boris Becker.
With the confidence in their own strength, Zverev will go into the quarter-finals against the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina tomorrow. In paper form, number 46 in the world is a feasible opponent. But Zverev’s focused appearances in Paris also include taking every opponent seriously. “He’s in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam, so he can’t be a bad player,” said Zverev. At the US Open last year, Zverev won 6: 2, 6: 2, 6: 1 in just 1:31 hours. A month later at the first tournament in Cologne, the number 6 in the world won again, this time 7: 5, 7: 6. “He will be hard to beat and has played some really good matches here. I have to put everything in there,” said Zverev about the form-strong Spaniard. “He’s probably playing the tournament of his life right now.” And yet: The 22-year-old should only be a stopover.
Zverev has a wild card in Paris: “I am someone who lives extremely through the fans, through these emotions. I need that and I just love it,” he told RTL / ntv last. He always played much better in front of spectators this year than without emotions in the stands. This year, from June 9th to 13th, when only the largest stadiums are played, 5,000 fans should be allowed in there. Advantage Zverev.
There are other things that speak for a good result. Zverev can only meet Nadal, the 13-time French Open winner, in the final, as well as Djokovic. “I have enormous power from the players who are still in the field,” said Zverev: “If I play well, I have chances.” But still a kind of declaration of war. No, he’s not in the mood for outsiders. But in the end it would be the nicer story: The unlikely winner who surprised them all. The outsider who turned all doubters into believers. At least this end of the story should make Alexander Zverev happy.
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