Alexander Zverev has never been in the final of the Australian Open. The German tennis professional has the next chance against record winner Novak Djokovic.
Tennis star Alexander Zverev plays in the semi-final showdown against record champion Novak Djokovic for his first final in the Australian Open. The 27-year-old Hamburger and the Serb, who is ten years older, meet German times on Friday morning (4.30 a.m. CET/Eurosport) in the Rod Laver Arena of Melbourne for the 13th time. The previous balance is 4: 8 from the point of view of Zverev.
1: 0 Djokovic: What a start! In the first game of the match, the two tennis stars already deliver spectacular rallies. A long basic line rally amazes the audience, Zverev loses the point through a hair -sharp decision against it: the ball sails out by millimeters. So far there is nothing to be seen of muscular problems at Djokovic. The crucial point in the game gain is simply a sensation. After several actually unreachable stop balls, which the two return at the last moment, Djokovic shovels the ball over the net – directly on Zverev’s body – that does not get the racket up in time. Play Djokovic.
The match begins: Shortly before the start of the game, the sun shows the sun in the Australian state of Victoria, in which Melbourne is located. Yesterday it rained, the temperatures had fallen under 20 degrees despite midsummer – normal for Melbourne, where the weather is always a surprise bag. In the course of the tournament, Zverev had emphasized that he didn’t like the games at lunchtime. Because then the sun heats up the hard court and the balls fly and jump off differently. It is surprising that the tournament management starts this top -class match at this time. So maybe a disadvantage for Zverev.
4.41 a.m.: Zverev first comes to the Center Court in the Rod Laver-Arena, then follows Djokovic, ten years older. The mood is good, the arena is almost completely filled. At the presentation of the two athletes, Zverev receives a lot of applause. Djokovic, however, cheers the crowd euphorically. So the sympathy seem to be clearly distributed here.
While Zverev held a public training in front of 300 fans in front of 300 fans before the match against Djokovic, his Serbian opponent was no trace. Even the crowd otherwise well -informed Serbian journalist wandered with a questioning look at Melbourne’s creation, looking for the object of her reporting. Unsuccessful. Unlike announced before, he did not appear on Court 16. No public training, no further information. Again and again Djokovic accompany difficulty background noises at Grand Slams.
In the four -sentence victory against Alcaraz, the Serb had revealed muscular problems and then showed itself “worried”. But tennis legend Boris Becker, who knows the two opponents very well, is certain that the 24-time Grand Slam winner will be ready, and said at Eurosport: “Favorite is Djokovic, because of his experience. He has the tournament already won ten times. “
“Novak has been washed with all the water. Nobody has played Grand Slam matches anymore, nobody has won Grand slams anymore,” warned Becker, who triumphed in 1996 than the last German Down. ” let whatever counterpart. “
Zverev achieved the last victory over the Serbs in 2021. At that time, the Hamburg team beat the best player in tennis history at the ATP Finals in Turin in the semi -finals. The German also won the tournament later.
According to the sports betting provider Bwin, Zverev remains again without a title with these Australian Open (AO). With a quota of 2.35 he takes the outsider role against Djokovic. For a victory of the Serbs, there is 1.65 times the use.
The roles, on the other hand, are much clearer in the other semi -finals – a victory of the world ranking of Jannik Sinner is noted with a quota of 1.06. If Ben Shelton (USA) actually conquered the Italian, there will be 9.75 times the use.