French Open: Alexander and Alexander Zverev - an inseparable team
Dad Alexander Zverev is back at the side of son Alexander Zverev after health problems. "The best coach in the world," says Sascha about his father.
by Jörg Allmeroth from Paris
last edit:
Jun 05, 2019, 12:44 pm
It was at the tournament in Munich, in the middle of the greatest crisis of his young career, that Alexander Zverev really opened his heart. Zverev spoke before the first rally in the Iphitos club about his heartache, he had just separated from his girlfriend Olga. He also spoke about the argument with his longtime manager Patricio Apey, about going to the courts. And then he talked about the problem that worried him the most and most, the sudden absence of his father Alexander senior. “For the first time, he's not by my side for a couple of weeks,” said Zverev, “that's difficult for me. I miss him a lot."
Zverev's dad came to Munich during the tournament, having been forced to stay in a hospital in Hamburg after “irregularities” were found during a routine check-up. "The whole thing took me a lot," said Zverev again in Paris, "I'm glad that my father is back on the team. But most of all, that he is healthy. It's a big, irreplaceable hold for me. ”Not only that: Zverev's daddy is also the boss in the Zverev team again, the man who gives the commands and who shows the direction at the French Open mission. Supercoach Ivan Lendl is missing, for whatever reason. So Zverev, the older, slips back into the role that he had for years building up the younger of his two sons - keen analyst, clever observer, stroke developer, opponent spy. Simply tone generator. "For me he is the best coach in the world," says Zverev junior about Zverev senior.
Papa Zverev shows emotions
Now that Zverev has made it back to the quarter-finals of the French International Championships , the view goes back to last autumn. Because there Zverev succeeded on another big stage, at the ATP final in London , which he now also intends to do in Paris: to beat number one, the industry leader, the co-favorite for the cup triumph - a certain Novak Djokovic. After the victory, Zverev, the young surprise champion, thanked his father for the long journey together, for thousands of hours of training and for the “patience that you always had with me.” There was a rare picture afterwards: Zverev senior , the otherwise so steadfast, the man with the poker face, the petrified expression, he could not hold back the tears. Dad showed emotion, and son Alexander even joked: "He will probably cry all night now."
# BETATHOMEFO #
Father Zverev himself was an exceptionally good tennis player in Russia, an elegant athlete with a fine hand and quick legs. His biggest problem: During the time of the “Iron Curtain” he was hardly allowed to play in the West, which explains his all-time high from number 175 in the world rankings. "With his talent, his skills, he would surely have ended up in the top 30 or top 20," says Mischa, the older of the two Zverev brothers in world tennis. When the family moved to Germany in the early 1990s, the father worked as a tennis instructor, first in Mölln and later at the Uhlenhorster Hockey Club (UHC). Soon Zverev's parents, including mother Irina, a former world-class player, took care of the careers of the two sons. With Misha, the elder, they probably put too much pressure on them and were overly strict. He couldn't make it to the top. They gave Alexander, the younger child, more freedom and more indulgence in his development.
Long before Ivan Lendl joined the Zverevs' party, Alexander junior was used to someone who could get by with one or two facial expressions - father Alexander, trainer Alexander, the man with the grim and the very grim look. Papa is also a relentless silent. When it comes to interviews, he's also Mister No. He doesn't want to talk, explain, discuss. It's wasted time. Very rarely does the coaching father speak a few words, like at the ATP final in London last November after the victory against Djokovic. The night after son Alexander's triumph, he said, "I am very proud of him."
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