Triumph after the shock
Zverev briefly brings back bad memories during a “big victory”.
By Till Erdenberger
November 14, 2023, 10:56 a.m
Alexander Zverev is an expert when it comes to the Tennis World Championships: The German tennis professional has already won the ATP Finals twice, and now he is celebrating a big victory at the start of the current edition. And defies the shock and his own record of horror.
The spectators at the Pala Alpitour in Turin had already seen a breathtaking match for two hours. Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev had driven themselves into the third set with great quality and great drama at the ATP Finals of the best tennis professionals, when the arena collectively packed up within a second froze: Superstar Alcaraz had won the first set 7:6, Zverev hit back in the second.
Then, after his break to make it 3-2 in the deciding set, Zverev fell down and grimaced. And there was probably no one among the 12,000 people in the huge arena who didn’t have images of screaming Zverev from the summer of 2022 flashing into his head when he tore the ligaments in his right foot in an epic duel against Rafael Nadal in Paris The German’s dreams of his first Grand Slam victory and the top of the world rankings shattered with a bang.
But this time Zverev quickly got back up. Unlike back then, when he had to be taken off the pitch in a wheelchair: “I quickly gave the signal that everything was okay and I didn’t have to go home in an ambulance. Many people know my history. My injury was in Roland Garros happened. Not at some 250cc tournament somewhere, but on one of the biggest stages in the world,” said Zverev. “Maybe that was a little bit of the reason for the reaction.” After his terrible accident, Zverev did not return to the court. He didn’t play any matches at all in 2022 and even after his comeback, he fought almost forever, sometimes with growing desperation, to return to his old class. An absolute horror year followed Roland Garros. Pain, rehab, setbacks. Zverev fell back in the world rankings to 27th place.
“A great honor”
Now he quickly returned to the match after the shock. “Luckily I didn’t twist my ankle, but slipped a little. I don’t think it’s a problem,” said Zverev after he had brought the thing to the finish: 6:7, 6:3, 6:4 was the score in the end , Zverev had defeated Carlos Alcaraz. Like back in Roland Garros, when Zverev was at the top of his game and just before everything came to a standstill in one bitter moment. Zverev delivered a strong performance against the 20-year-old whiz kid, hitting 16 aces, dominating with a finely balanced mix of tactical security and extreme risk and making few unnecessary mistakes. A performance with which the two-time world champion, who ultimately narrowly qualified to take part in the meeting of the best professionals of the year, was able to open the door to the semi-finals surprisingly wide.
However, Zverev should no longer surprise anyone at the ATP Finals: the seventh in the world rankings has never traveled as a favorite, not in London, where the tournament took place until 2020, and not in Turin either. And yet he has already won twice: in 2018 and 2021. The hard court suits the German, as does the atmosphere. Last year he had to miss Roland Garros due to the injury. “I simply enjoy being among the eight best players in the world and being able to compete with them,” said Zverev, referring to the highlight tournament: “It’s a prestigious event, an honor to be there, and I don’t take it for granted.” He doesn’t want to place too much emphasis on his victory as the tournament progresses. “I’m happy with the win, but I also know that there’s still a long way to go. It was only the first group match.”
“Of course it’s a big victory”
Zverev was very satisfied with his performance against Alcaraz. “Of course it’s a big victory. But there are no small victories here either because you only play against the best players in the world.” In these matches, the German, who celebrated his first tournament victory at his home tournament in Hamburg in the summer since his triumph at the ATP Finals in November 2021, still had his big difficulties this season: Zverev had only beaten a player from the top 10 twice before .
Winning the big matches is the last, and from Zverev’s self-image, the most important step on the way back to old spheres. “My goals haven’t changed. I still want to be one of the best players in the world, I still want to win the biggest tournaments in the world,” he revealed in January upon his return to the tour. The 26-year-old once made it to second place in the world rankings. If you want to win big tournaments, you also have to beat the big players. That’s only natural. Against Alcaraz, Zverev was able to at least improve his record a little. It’s a big step towards the semi-finals in Turin and perhaps – as the future will show – more than a small step in your own career.
It is quite possible that the balance will deteriorate again on Wednesday: After Zverev’s coup against Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev dismantled Andrej Rublev, who had recently been in strong form, 6:4, 6:2. Medvedev, who has already inflicted four bitter defeats on Zverev this season, is the German’s next opponent on Wednesday. After all: in 2021, when Zverev was able to compete in Turin for the last time, he beat the Russian in the final.