Alexander Zverev has to recharge the battery quickly after his round of 16 drama – a maximum difficulty against Carlos Alcaraz awaits.
Alexander Zverev was far too flat for an extensive jubilee aria. A small challenge to Carlos Alcaraz gave the strength of the Olympic champion after an epic tennis drama in New York.
“I’m here to play,” said Zverev with bright eyes about the upcoming quarter-final cracker of the US Open: “I’ll fight until the last moment.”
It will be a Herculean task, which the Hamburger with the mortgage of a short regeneration time will probably tackle on Thursday night. But that couldn’t dampen the joy of the German number one after the happy end of a 4:41 hour battle of nerves.
Zverev proved to be a real monster of mentality in his 6: 4, 3: 6, 6: 2, 4: 6, 6: 3 win against the strong South Tyrolean Jannik Sinner. Both opponents had staggered at times like heavyweight boxers in the tenth round, as Boris Becker aptly stated.
US Open – Alexander Zverev: “That’s what I live for”
“I don’t know how I did it. I was completely exhausted in the fourth set,” said Zverev, who proved himself with the success in his longest match ever in New York: the serious injury from the summer of 2022 is finally past.
“It’s one of the best moments in my career after my comeback and everything,” said the 26-year-old: “That’s what I live for, I think I can really say I’m back now.”
US Open – Boris Becker: “He’s an incredible fighter”
An assessment that Becker shared after a real effort of will. “Sascha is back,” said the six-time Grand Slam winner Sportdeutschland.TV: “It’s in his DNA, in his instinct. He’s an incredible fighter, a stand-up man. In difficult situations he keeps going.”
Alcaraz also sees Zverev on the right path back to old strength. “He’s playing really, really well,” said the Spaniard. “He’s finding his top level again this year.”
In the round of 16, however, not only Zverev’s concentration was significantly disturbed in the meantime. A spectator suddenly shouted “Germany above everything”, Zverev consistently demanded his ban from the stadium after this “unacceptable” derailment.
US Open: Now Carlos Alcaraz is waiting
Looking ahead, the situation for Zverev is now difficult from a purely sporting point of view. Even very difficult. Alcaraz is the defending champion and world number one. Along with Novak Djokovic, the 20-year-old Wimbledon winner is clearly the biggest number this year in New York.
And Zverev goes to the top difficulty with a clear disadvantage. Alcaraz, the model athlete, had already completed his task against Italian Matteo Arnaldi in the afternoon (local time). Accordingly, he was able to start regenerating much earlier and, on top of that, had used up much less energy.
Accordingly, a race against time began for Zverev after the exclamation mark against Sinner. He still had the media appointments, then work with the physio, something to eat before he could sink into the hotel bed in Manhattan. “Of course I have to recover first,” said Zverev: “But I’ll be ready.”
2023-09-05 18:25:43
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