ATP Finals: The remarkable Sascha Zverev

Alexander Zverev starts his first ATP Tour Finals at 9 pm CET. He gave clever answers to a variety of media this week – today he wants to do so again against Marin Cilic on the court.

By Florian Goosmann from London

Alexander Zverev has launched a small German media offensive in the past few days, and he came up with some statements that are noticeable for a 20-year-old. He would prefer to live only in Hamburg, he told the Süddeutsche Zeitung, and he did not hope that people would not see him as a German:”I just can’t be there often anymore,” he also wanted to be a good person and had to make unpopular decisions, but these were “important for the long view ahead”. And he is now also learning French, it is good that he can speak several languages, his French physio never stops talking, no matter what time it is.

The fact that his Masters titles were reported smaller than the Davis Cup rejection was a pity for Zverev,”and that has nothing to do with being insulted”, he told the Focus,”I have the feeling that people in our country prefer to go for something negative”. And:”Of course I want people to like me. That’s a perfectly normal reaction. Especially in Germany, where I grew up and spent most of my life. It would be nice if people would understand me, support me. If they judge me fairly. Besides, without wanting to be pathetic,”I always try to be a good person.”

In London, too, Zverev seemed chatty, he gave – like all his colleagues, by the way – good, detailed answers in his press conference before the start (by the way, a big difference to the ladies in Singapore who often only gave one-sentence answers, platitudes or one-set platitudes). And even though Zverev is a premiere guest in the o2-arena – like Grigor Dimitrov and Jack Sock: Zverev wants to know as always. On Saturday he trained with Rafael Nadal, two dedicated experts among themselves, who understand little fun in training, there was not much talk here.

Feeling Zverev has landed with Roger Federer, Marin Cilic and Jack Sock in the more difficult group – in the Head-to-Head he is ahead of his group opponents but with 6:4:2:2’s against Federer (his victory in the Hopman Cup at the beginning of the year not even included), 1:1 against Sock, 3:1 against opening opponent Cilic, against whom it will of course be against him because of this.

All matches against the Croatian have been contested so far, with the first one won Cilic 2015 in Washington in two rounds, followed by two tiebreak wins in 2016 in Montpellier, followed by two three-set wins in 2016 in Montpellier, followed by two three-set wins in Shanghai and 2017 in Madrid, the only match on clay.

Cilic’s record after the US Open is slightly better: 11 wins with 4 defeats, Zverev is 7-5, last time he was in poor health,”I played a good set in Paris and then had no more energy,”he said. Zverev did the only sensible thing after that, he paused, took five days off and played a show fight in Milan, at the Next Gen ATP Finals. In London, he feels “very good on the pitch, actually, he’s been better than ever since the U. S. Swing.”

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A good prospect for the hamburger, who told the Süddeutsche Zeitung two other interests: fun with the game “Escape Room”, in which you have to escape from a room (and that he plays everywhere, where it is possible). And in outer space, in the genesis that he’s a little crazy about things like that, he said,”It’s a spleen that I indulge in.”

As far as London is concerned, Zverev is able to combine his passions very well: he gets out of the Cilic match in a positive way, then escapes from the group. If he manages to do that, there could indeed be no limits for him.