Mischa Zverev - indispensable on Sascha's way up
Mischa Zverev has taken over the agendas for his brother Alexander in the background. The older Zverev is following Sascha's recent successes from afar.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit:
Sep 07, 2021, 07:38 pm
It was a bitter punchline that Mischa Zverev was far, far away from his brother Alexander at the most memorable moment in the long family tennis history. The younger Zverev brother stormed unswervingly and uncompromisingly to the gold medal at the Olympic ghost games in Tokyo, on the way he even beat the favorite Novak Djokovic out of the race - and Mischa, the eternal companion, sat on the one hand "incredibly proud", on the other hand “Really frustrated” in a Eurosport TV studio in Munich. “Of course I would have loved to have been there,” says the 34-year-old, “you want to experience and enjoy a moment like this live.” As soon as the tears over the touching triumph dried up, the bustling Misha organized the reception at home again - Without further ado, he even let his parents Alexander sr. and Irina fly in from Monte Carlo.
In New York, the two brothers are now reunited as a matter of course - Alexander continues to win on the dazzling Grand Slam stage in the Big Apple with consistency and consolidated self-confidence, on Monday he advanced with a clear three-set victory over the dangerous South Tyrolean Jannik Sinner advance to the quarter-finals and now meets the South African Llyod Harris. And Mischa is the indispensable man at the brother's side in the mission to win the title, as elsewhere in the recent past - as a sports advisor, opponent observer, business mastermind and “Sascha explainer” (Boris Becker) to the media and fans. Zverev, the elder, can also rely on a network that he himself has established and steadily expanded on the professional tour over the past two decades. “Having Mischa around is an incredible help. It gives me security, ”says Alexander, who after his golden trip to Tokyo is more than ever in the focus not only of the closer tennis scene.
Mischa as moderator between Alexander Zverev senior and junior
Mischa is still out and about in the tennis business every now and then. Before he traveled to New York to represent Brother Alexander's interests there and also to provide assessments of the Grand Slam events for Eurosport, he made two detours to Challenger tournaments in Prague and Lüdenscheid. The 34-year-old gently lets a career come to an end, which was characterized by a futile attempt at the top tennis player, by too high personal and family expectations and by recurring bad luck with injuries. The brilliant technician Mischa says that he has always persevered through all difficulties, he owes above all to his brother: "He always said to me: Don't give up, believe in yourself."
In return, Olympic champion Alexander could always rely on the advice and action of his older, more experienced brother - even with the traditionally difficult transition from junior to adult tennis. “We help each other wherever we can. That goes without saying, it's in our blood, "says Mischa," I always know exactly what makes Sascha tick and where he has problems. " and the youngest child. The duo has been inseparably connected over the years, but there is still a need for moderation in all kinds of everyday sporting issues. It's no wonder that Mischa is a regular at her brother's training and even intervenes to correct things.
Separation from the Federer agency
Since this spring, the older brother's area of responsibility has once again become larger and more demanding. After separating from the management agency Team8, of which Roger Federer is a partner, Mischa now takes care of the main day-to-day business - in addition, Sergej Bubka Jr., the son of the former pole vault superstar, acts as a kind of travel manager. The 34-year-old didn't stumble into this job, the new family office had long played a role in the Zverev's deliberations - which is why Mischa also trained in management and marketing. But he could also rely on his own professional experience, on the knowledge of how and with whom which deals can be negotiated. "Nobody can fool him so quickly," says a German tournament director, "he's a very well rested guy."
Mischa, who was born in Moscow before the family move to Germany, is currently pursuing a mission with some intensity - namely to anchor his brother far more successfully than before in the national tennis scene and in larger German society. The 34-year-old has to drag himself around with the burdens of the past, especially the messed up era under the businessman Patricio Apey, who already wanted to market Alexander Zverev as a world star as a teenager and considered Germany to be a minor matter. "Sascha did not have the right helpers to show his true personality," said Mischa three months ago to the "tennis magazine". Now the Olympic victory, also Alexander's emphasized role as a team player in Tokyo, could have caused a significant change. "Anyone who knows him knows that he is an incredibly honest and exciting guy," says the older brother, "I'm curious about where our journey will lead."
Here the single tableau in New York
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