Alexander Zverev is in the 2nd round of the US Open. His appearance at 6: 2, 7: 6 (7: 4), 6: 4 against Alejandro Tabilo was important due to his situation, but was not more in terms of fulfillment than the fulfillment of a mandatory task of the German tennis star.
For Zverev, the tournament in New York is certainly different from the many other top events in recent years. It should not be about the Hatz after the first-time first Grand Slam victory. After his defeat in the final of the Australian Open, Zverev said: “I don’t want to end my career as one of the greatest players ever without a Grand Slam title.” But the probability is extremely great that now is not the right time.
Zverev got “professional help”
There are difficult times behind number three in the world, which are not over yet. After completing his first round in Wimbledon, Zverev revealed mental problems. “I got professional help and I continue to work with it. It is a process”said the 28-year-old before the US Open. He also has to find himself in terms of sport, Zverev trained in the meantime with Toni Nadel, uncle of Rafael Nadal, there was no long -term gathering.
Zverev has to work out the status of the top player again, overcome his problems, make a decision about his (still unchanged) team around him. In such a finding phase, the title can hardly be the big goal if opponents like Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz can wait in the tournament course. Game for game – and the first was against Tabilo, 126th place in the world rankings.
Tabilo does not have the means to beat Zverev
The fact that the Chilean is actually none that can endanger Zverev was very clearly visible in sentence one. The game was one -sided, Tabilo had no strokes to score directly, but had to wait for errors. Some of them came (eight in the first sentence) and Zverev even allowed three break balls, but the left -hander could not strike. The passage ended 6-2.
After that it became much narrower, which was mainly due to the fact that the favorite allowed this. Zverev and Tabilo were often very far behind the baseline, often the question was not who turned the point, but who makes the mistake. Tabilo opened better, but he missed the sack despite three other break chances. It went into the Tie Break and in the 7: 4 it was shown that Zverev is a specialist in it and Tabilo is not (1: 6 balance in front of the US Open)-the 2-0 set management for the German.
Hardly any spectators on the Center Court
Before the game, he had emphasized that his physical problems, which had last plagued him in Cincinnati, were overcome. Zverev also did not make the impression that he was weakened – but inhibited. He didn’t play as quickly as he can, he didn’t hit as powerfully as usual. But he pulled the fight against Tabilo, finally survived the match without break and without losing a set.
The third set ended 6: 4 and after 2:08 hours Zverev had taken the first step at these US Open. The fact that it was not an enthusiastic match also revealed itself in the audience ranks in the Arthur Ashe stage, which were atypical for the night sessions. The most important fact is that Zverev is in the second round and will meet the British Jacob Fearnley (world ranking place 60).
Zverev honestly and self -critical
The best German tennis player also knew that he would need better performance against his next opponent. “It wasn’t always great what I played to be honest. There is a lot to improve”said Zverev. “But I did it, even without losing a set. It was important that the game at 1 a.m. and not at 3 a.m.
The fact that so few fans were still in Arthur Ashe was also due to the late beginning of the game. Previously, Coco Gauff had significantly more effort against Ajla Tomjanovic (6: 4, 6: 7, 7: 5) than expected after 2:57 hours. “It was a great match, I would have gone home afterwards”joked Zverev after his start. Nevertheless, he should hope that his game against Fearnley will pursue more people on site.