Tennis – Mischa Zverev: “Sascha wants to be as strong as ever” – Sport

Paris (AP) – After his serious foot injury at the French Open, tennis Olympic champion Alexander Zverev deliberately did not set a specific tournament as his goal for his return.

“We don’t want to plan now. Because when you say it’s going to be a month or two, you count every day and wonder if you can make it or not. You have such a feeling of disappointment when you don’t make it.” , said Zverev’s brother Mischa in the Eurosport podcast “Das Gelbe vom Ball”.

A week ago in the semifinals of the French Open, Zverev twisted his right foot against eventual winner Rafael Nadal and tore his three outer ligaments. At the beginning of the week, the German number one was operated on. The lawn classic in Wimbledon (from June 27th) will take place without Zverev. The next highlights after that would be the US Open (August 29 to September 11) and the Davis Cup intermediate round from September 14 to 18 in Hamburg, for which Zverev himself had campaigned to award his hometown.

Prominent role models

The good thing is that only the outer ligaments were affected. “The ligaments were through, but the syndesmosis ligament and the capsule are intact. All the other joints and the cartilage too,” said Mischa Zverev, who acts as his brother’s manager. Now it is primarily about the 25-year-old recovering from the injury completely. “And then of course the game has to fit because Sascha definitely doesn’t want to come back and not play well,” said Mischa Zverev.

Role models are Nadal and Roger Federer, who came back stronger than before after injuries and immediately won Grand Slam tournaments. “And that’s what Sascha intends to do. That means he will do everything to come back one hundred percent and to be as strong as ever,” said Mischa Zverev.

Otte: Need him “urgently”

Tennis pro Oscar Otte hopes for a quick comeback from Zverev. German men’s tennis “urgently” needs the 25-year-old, said the man from Cologne after his surprising round of 16 victory over Canadian Denis Shapovalov at the ATP lawn tournament in Stuttgart. “He’s our number one top performer. It’s generally good for all of tennis in Germany if he plays well.” Even if he himself, Daniel Altmaier or Jan-Lennard Struff “come up a bit”, says Otte.

Otte reported that he followed Zverev’s injury-related exit on television together with the Mülheim professional Mats Moraing. “We both had a lump in our throats and were totally shocked. Of course we’re very sorry,” said the 28-year-old. “I wish him a speedy recovery and that he’ll be back on tour soon.”

In Zverev’s absence, Otte is practically the greatest German hope. “That sounds completely sick to me. If someone had said that to me ten years ago, I would have asked: Dude, what’s wrong with you?” Said number 61 in the world rankings. “But being in this role is amazing and it pushes me even more.” Altmaier, whom he defeated at the start in Stuttgart, is the only German besides Zverev who is currently ahead of Otte in the world rankings.

© dpa-infocom, dpa:220609-99-603216/3

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