He wiped his face briefly, took off the black headband and congratulated his opponent Christopher O’Connell – the Australian, who will no longer only be found in world number 82 for much longer. Then Alexander Zverev made his way to the changing room in the chic clubhouse of MTTC Iphitos Munich. With his head bowed, accompanied by a bodyguard. The last few steps in front of the door, Zverev stepped firmly on the stone floor to knock the sand out of his shoes and probably the frustration out of his soul. Then he was gone, after a sobering 6-7(2), 4-6 defeat in the round of 16 at the BMW Open on his 26th birthday – and a game in which he, you have to say, lived up to his standards indisputable performance bot.
O’Connell had chased Zverev across the pitch from the start, to the left, to the right, almost all of his interspersed stops were successful. Also because Zverev, who started in thermal pants and shirt for his opening match, which was postponed on Wednesday due to the constant rain, froze more and more in the cold. The forehand, the backhand, there was too little pressure behind Zverev’s shots on the deep course, his shots ended up off-limits too often. The wintry five degrees Celsius measured in Munich on Thursday is certainly not his comfortable temperature. But the fact that Zverev had to leave the field so shocked also amazed the spectators in the ranks, which were full at the end.
Now Zverev’s search for his former form continues, even after his first appearance in Germany since the Davis Cup duel in Trier against Switzerland in early February. At that time, the Germans also lost because of Zverev’s two-set defeat against the then world number 39. Marc-Andrea Hüsler and missed qualifying for the group stage in September. And of course the question now arises again as to what all the debates about the dispute with Daniil Medvedev have done to him, against whom he lost in the round of 16 in Monte Carlo last week and whom he then accused of playing unfairly.
Some people in Munich would have wished that Zverev would at least let out a cry of anger – but his facial expressions and gestures were exhausted in questioning looks and dismissive hand movements. Later, when he briefly answered the questions on the podium, he didn’t want to blame the weather: “In the last three years I’ve had a hard time dealing with the pressure in Munich. I put the pressure on myself, I’ve had it since 2018 I didn’t play well here anymore. I play wonderfully in training, on the match pitch it’s something completely different for me. I don’t play as powerfully, I move more slowly.”
Almost a year after Roland Garros’ ankle injury, Zverev shows neither consistency nor safe shots
Zverev actually had a lot of time to acclimatize in Munich, but maybe there were too many side shows where he appeared. On Wednesday, after the constant rain had washed away his opening game on Aumeisterweg, he wanted to watch his FC Bayern kickers in the nearby Munich soccer arena against Manchester City, which wasn’t really warming either. On Monday, Zverev smiled at the cameras with five Germany’s next top models, who somehow made it to Players Night. The Golden Racket Club is the name of the VIP tent on Aumeisterweg near the English Garden, which sounds almost as beautiful as the Golden Pudel Club, although the latter enjoys a view of the Elbe in Zverev’s hometown of Hamburg and also has more charm than the highly polished tent.
In any case, Zverev kept small talk on the red carpet and later held hands with girlfriend Sophia Thomalla. This frosty end followed on center court. “He has the key in his hand,” his brother Mischa had said in the run-up to the tournament, “the shots are there, now it’s about consistency.” But Alexander Zverev showed neither consistency nor safe shots almost a year after the fatal ankle injury at Roland Garros: First set, a successful stop by O’Connell to make it 3-1 for the Australian. 4: 4, debut, Zverev’s backhand lands five meters behind the baseline, a little later it’s 4: 5. 1:5 then in the tie-break, after a double fault and other shortcomings. And in the second set, O’Connell also managed the decisive break to 5: 4 because Zverev placed his forehand in the middle of the net.
At the Australian Open it was over in the second round, in Miami in round one, the duels with Medvedev that were so narrowly lost and the bitter aftermath followed. And now Zverev, the two-time BMW Open winner, has lost to an Australian who plays elegantly and hits excellent passing balls and who was not even in the world rankings in 2019.
“Right now I don’t feel like doing anything,” said Zverev. Then he said goodbye on his very somber birthday.