"No dances of joy" yet: Alexander Zverev with a broad chest against the horror balance
His first semi-final at the French Open should only be an intermediate step for Alexander Zverev. But he must finally break a black series against a feared opponent.
by SID
last edit:
Jun 10, 2021, 01:56 pm
Alexander Zverev wiped away the confrontation with his terrible record with the self-confidence of a champion. "I'm not interested in such statistics," said the German tennis star after his first semi-final at the French Open: "I know what I'm capable of. That's the only thing that matters to me." With a broad chest, Zverev wants to create in Paris what he has never succeeded in nine attempts.
Because in order to keep his dream of the first Grand Slam title alive, the 24-year-old has to defeat a top 10 player in a major for the first time. The fact that he also has to get rid of a feared opponent in the world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday does not make the task any easier.
And so immediately after his lackluster, but ultimately sovereign three-set victory (6: 4, 6: 1, 6: 1) against the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Zverev set his sights on the big duel with the 22-year-old Greek. In order not to leave anything to chance, we went back to the court for service training immediately after the quarter-final match at dinner time. On Wednesday, the usual regeneration session in the ice chamber and an extended training session followed.
Zverev: "Tsitsipas had an incredible clay court season"
"I'll do everything I can to ensure that I'm in top shape on Friday and that my game is 100 percent over there," said the man from Hamburg. He will need his top form. Because the balance speaks clearly for the Greek, who is in a major semi-final for the third time in a row.
Tsitsipas won five of the seven duels and is clearly number one in the season's ranking. "Tsitsipas has had an unbelievable clay court season, we don't even need to talk about that," said Zverev: "Everyone knows how well he played. It won't be an easy match." But the last comparison so far gives hope: In the final of Acapulco in March, the German retained the upper hand, albeit on a hard court.
For Zverev, it will also be the first really well-known challenge in the tournament. The completely overwhelmed Davidovich Fokina was world number 46. the highest hurdle so far - owed to a favorable draw and failures of the co-favorites.
"At the end of the day I played against the players who faced me. I can't choose my opponents," said Zverev and emphasized: "My opponents didn't get this far without a reason." For Zverev, the only thing that counts is that he confidently got rid of the tasks - that also underlines his maturation process.
Zverev is not yet doing dances of joy
"Before Medvedev and Tsitsipas came, I was seen in the media as the guy who was suddenly supposed to take over the tennis world," he said. "I also put pressure on myself. I wasn't very patient. I feel like I am now maybe learned to deal with the situation a little better. "
This is another reason why Zverev is still far from satisfied with what has been achieved. "Sure, I'm glad I'm in the semi-finals," he said: "But I'm not doing any joyful dances, the tournament isn't over yet." There it was again, the confidence of a champion.
rgmap