ATP Masters Madrid: Alexander Zverev - the old fighter's heart is still beating
With his hard-fought opening win against Roberto Carballes Baena, Alexander Zverev kept alive the chance of seeing Carlos Alcaraz again at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid.
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Apr 29, 2023, 08:18 am
Sergi Bruguera didn't exactly look happy in the middle of the second set of his protégé Alexander Zverev against Roberto Carballes Baena. Well, the external conditions were pretty much glorious on Friday night in Madrid, Bruguera was adequately served with a t-shirt. But Zverev was behind the local hero with set and break. And that was more due to the lack of consistency in the German's game than to a brilliant performance by Carballes Baena, who fought valiantly but was limited in terms of play.
But he suddenly opened the door when the score was 4: 3 and 30: 0 - and Zverev rediscovered the old fighter heart that had saved him many games in the past. The re-break to 4:4 was the initial spark for the comeback, which ended happily in a safe third set. After all, one would like to say after Zverev failed in Munich last week in equal parts due to opponent Christopher O'Connell, the external conditions and the pressure of expectations at home.
Zverev tired into the final in 2022
Zverev - the two-time champion and last year's finalist in the Caja Magica - had hoped that things would go better in Madrid. And the upcoming task is also very acceptable: Hugo Grenier can compete with the German number one after beating the returnee Sebastian Koda. After that, however, the final of 2022 could be repeated. Because Carlos Alcaraz, despite his problems against Emil Ruusuvuori, is the clear favorite in the meeting with Grigor Dimitrov.
A year ago, Zverev won a late semi-final against Stefanos Tsitsipas, but was then not ready to compete with Alcaraz on the day of the final. The revenge came a few weeks later in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, where Zverev defeated the Spaniard in four sets.
Madrid as my favorite place
The balance has shifted a bit since then. Both players have lengthy injury breaks behind them. After his return, Alcaraz has already won three tournaments (in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells and most recently in Barcelona). Alexander Zverev has been waiting for a great sense of achievement since the ATP Finals at the end of 2021.
The Caja Magica in Madrid would be ideal for this, as Zverev emphasized again after his victory against Carballes Baena. "I'm just happy to be back and to be able to play these kinds of matches in big stadiums again. Especially here. I've said it before: this is my favorite place in the whole world. We'll see how it goes."
Here is the individual tableau in Madrid
madrid map