Australian Open
Calm and mature: Zverev’s duel with his arch-rival
Currently playing excellent tennis at the Australian Open: Alexander Zverev. photo
© Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/AP/dpa
Alexander Zverev is celebrated after his quarterfinal coup against Carlos Alcaraz. But the next difficult task lies ahead. It’s against an old friend.
For Boris Becker the matter is clear. “This is how Alexander Zverev wins it Australian Open,” said Germany’s tennis legend after Zverev’s spectacular quarter-final win against Wimbledon winner Carlos Alcaraz at the first Grand Slam tournament of the year.
And in fact Zverev is a candidate for the title in this form. The performance against the Spanish world number two was his best since the French Open 2022, when he had Rafael Nadal on the verge of defeat in the semi-finals – before the serious foot injury slowed him down.
“Back then I was at the top of my tennis,” said Zverev in Melbourne. Now the Olympic champion is getting closer to this status again. “Last year I wasn’t really a contender for the title at the Grand Slams,” admitted the 26-year-old. This is different again now.
Zverev’s new maturity
“I worked extremely hard in preparation,” said Zverev. This is also a difference to a year ago, when Zverev was already over in the second round in Melbourne. “Last year’s preparation was about getting my foot back. This time I did a lot of physical work in preparation, I worked on myself,” said Zverev. “From a physical point of view, there is hardly a player who works harder than me.”
In addition to physical fitness, Zverev is also experiencing a new level of maturity on the pitch. While in the past his rackets have flown across the pitch or there have been occasional arguments with his team in the stands, Zverev appears surprisingly calm and collected these days on the Yarra River. Both in terms of negative and positive reactions.
Zverev is asked a lot about this change in Melbourne. For him it is not so obvious. “I think that I have become calmer and more mature in the last one and a half to two years. That is also a further development as a person,” said Zverev. About two years ago, he freaked out at the tournament in Acapulco, Mexico, and hit the referee’s chair with his bat. The justified criticism that hit him afterwards made him think and mature.
Now against the long-term rival
Zverev will also need the new maturity and calm on Friday (9.30 a.m. CET/Eurosport) against his long-term rival Daniil Medvedev. Zverev has a very special rivalry with the Russian, and the two will no longer be friends. This also becomes clear in an episode of the second Netflix season of the series “Break Point”, which once again focuses on the events at the round of 16 in Monte Carlo in spring 2023.
At that time, after the three-set defeat, Zverev described Medvedev as “one of the most unfair players in the world” because he had driven the German to despair with some psychological games. The Russian countered smugly: “He lives in his own world.”
Zverev and Medvedev have already faced each other 18 times in their careers, and last year alone there were six duels – the Russian won five times. A hint for the game on Friday? Not for Zverev. “He was at his best last year, I was coming back from an injury, my self-confidence wasn’t there,” said Zverev. “And then you let a lot of things get you out. He put that to good use last year. I hope I’m a different player this year.”
Becker enthusiastic about Zverev
He definitely was against Alcaraz. After Zverev had revealed old weaknesses in the previous rounds and often acted far too passively, he delivered a masterful performance against the massive Spaniard. Aggressive and dominant from the first point – Zverev had not been seen like that often against top players in his career. Also an expression of his new self-confidence. “I’m back in the top six in the world, I’ve played big tournaments and big matches again,” said Zverev, citing the biggest difference compared to a year ago.
The reward: The first win against a top-five player in a Grand Slam tournament and the seventh semi-final of his career in one of the four major events. “That was the best Zverev I’ve ever seen,” enthused Becker as a TV expert on Eurosport.
Zverev himself held back. Satisfaction yes, exuberance no. “I’m only in the semifinals and haven’t won the tournament yet,” said Zverev, who is struggling with painful blood blisters on his feet. So on Thursday there was only light batting practice on the agenda at Melbourne Park. Otherwise, it was all about mental preparation for Medvedev. “There will be things that I don’t like and there will be things that he doesn’t like. That will be part of the match,” said Zverev.