Alexander Zverev meets Luca van Assche in the quarterfinals of the ATP Tour 500 tournament today. The Frenchman is considered one of the hopes in his home country.
by Jens Huiber
last edited: 07/28/2023, 07:25 am
© Hamburg European Open / Witters
Luca van Assche can play against Alexander Zverev today
Tennis historians will certainly have noted that Luca van Assche achieved the almost impossible in the 2023 season: in Banja Luka, the 19-year-old Frenchman managed to win a tie-break against Novak Djokovic. Well, the two sets after that went to the Serbian grandmaster, but of course that’s all part of the learning process that van Assche, currently number 77 in the ATP charts, has to go through.
It’s not easy for young French people, the long wait since the last major title for a man from the Grand Nation weighs heavily on future generations. In any case, Gael Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet could not cope with this pressure (and also had overpowering opponents in Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal).
Fils and van Assche couldn’t be more different
Luca van Assche shares this burden at least with Arthur Fils, who also made it to the quarter-finals in Hamburg and has to play against Casper Ruud there. Van Assche and Fils played doubles together at Wimbledon, it was a wonderful sight: not only how well the two youngsters got along with each other. But also the contrasts in terms of physiognomy – Fils is a bull, a bit like his opponent Ruud today. Luca van Assche, on the other hand, could easily pass as David Goffin 2.0, from a purely physical point of view.
Will this fragile structure be able to withstand the pressure from Alexander Zverev? In the current competition, Van Assche first defeated his compatriot Alexandre Muller quite smoothly and then Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina after a comeback. Zverev literally rolled over Alex Molcan in lap one, and the German number one was not in danger against Maxi Marterer either.
Zverev shows no nerves
As almost always, everything will probably depend on Zverev’s serve (and a bit on whether the roof is also closed this Friday – certainly an advantage for the local hero). If Zverev finds his groove with the throw-in, then van Assche will probably not be able to look forward to a possible semi-final against Kumpel Fils or Casper Ruud. And the French outsider shouldn’t hope for one thing either: Alexander Zverev had complained in Munich that he was putting too much mental pressure on himself as a home player. so far there is nothing to be seen of it in his native city.
Here the individual tableau in Hamburg
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2023-07-28 09:05:12
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