The French Open begin-and Alexander Zverev hopes again for the first Grand Slam success. But according to health setbacks and fluctuating form, there are doubts.
Alexander Zverev, currently number 3 in the world rankings, is the leading figure in German men’s tornia. With an impressive career that includes 24 ATP titles and a gold medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Zverev has repeatedly demonstrated his talent on the international stage. But so far he still lacks a Grand Slam title.
With the start of the French Open, the focus is on a central question: Can Zverev finally win his first major title? His career was characterized by tight defeats and strong opponents, but his will remains unbroken.
For his dress rehearsal for the French Open at the Hamburg Open (ATP 500), he competed in a good mood and hope for “positive emotions”. The results of the past few weeks-a round of 16 in Madrid and an end at the quarter-finals in Rome-had no satisfaction with the 28-year-old. To prepare new energy and prepare for the second Grand Slam tournament of the year in the familiar environment of his hometown, Zverev decided to start in Hamburg.
But the plan did not work. Already in the second round he left three sentences against the Frenchman Alexandre Müller, who is in 40th place in the world rankings. For Müller it was a milestone: for the first time in his career, he defeated a player from the top five – for Zverev, on the other hand, a bitter defeat at the wrong time.
After his early departure, Zverev made an informative statement: he was seriously ill. “For the fact that I vomited 37 times and had 39.4 degrees fever all night, it was actually okay,” he admitted. He was obviously not in the constitution to play a tournament – and said that he would certainly not have started if it hadn’t been in his hometown. Nevertheless, Zverev can gain something from the defeat: “Maybe it’s good that I now have three or four days to control the stress, and then I hope that I can show good tennis in Paris.”
The second Grand Slam tournament of the year, Roland Garros, began on Sunday. Top players like Jannik Sinner (read more about his start here), defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, triple champion Novak Djoković and Alexander Zverev fight for the prestigious title. Once again, the German hopes rest on Zverev, who wants to fulfill his long-cherished dream of the first Grand Slam victory.
Last year he was within reach of this goal when he reached the final, but was defeated in a five-set match against Alcaraz. This tournament is of particular importance for Zverev, not only because of its Grand Slam status, but also due to the sand cover. In his career so far, Zverev showed strong performances on sand fields and has a higher victory rate on this surface than on others. Although he is competent on all coverings, Sand remains its most successful and preferred soil with a victory rate of around 73 %.
Despite the recently fluctuating performance and health problems, Zverev remains a dangerous opponent on sand – especially at the French Open, where he sniffed the title last year. It remains to be seen whether he will find the consistency and form this year to finally get the long-awaited Grand Slam title. The expectations are there – but also the question marks.