Australian Open: Zverev and Kerber: Joint paths now part ways

While Angelique Kerber seems to be in Grand Slam form again, Alexander Zverev is still looking for his major problem.

When the new tennis year began Angelique Kerber and Alexander Zverev hit the ball for Germany. At the Hopman Cup, the unofficial world championship of mixed doubles, the pair even reached the final against Switzerland. But Zverev, who was twenty years younger than his comrade-in-arms at the age of a decade, later knew exactly who was responsible for this small success:”Angie kept us in the matches and saved us,”said Zverev, who delivered mediocre and mixed work samples. Kerber left the show with a tailwind and won the competition in Sydney next week. And Zverev? He had some slight doubts about what these first, very challenging tennis weeks would bring.

On the first Saturday of the Australian Open, Kerber and Zverev stood on the same court again, but now on Centre Court as soloists in the tennis tour business. But the balance of power between the two German pros had not changed: Kerber, the player of the hour in the travelling circus, extended her impressive winning streak in the fresh season by a smooth 6:1,6:3 win against Maria Sharapova, she remained unbeaten after a dozen matches in the 2018 campaign, entered the round of sixteen. But Zverev also prolonged a trend, a short-term and a long-term one. In the 7-5,6-7 (3-7,6-2,3-6 and 0-6 third round defeat against South Korean generation member Hyeon Chung, the rather bumpy start to the year for the fourth place in the world ranking continued.

At the same time, Zverev once again revealed serious problems in bringing his talents and potential to one of the four major tournaments,”It’s a mental problem. I want to do something with all my might. I want everything too much with the Grand Slams, they mean a lot to me,”said the hamburger later. The fact is, he has never been able to reach the quarter-finals at Grand Slam level. And he’s never beaten a top 50 player in Melbourne, Paris, Wimbledon or New York.

After a week of Grand Slam tennis in chilled Melbourne, a familiar picture emerges from earlier days – Angelique Kerber – and nothing else. The 30-year-old from Kiel is once again the last Mohawk in the German squad, as steadfast and upright as in the best days of her career in 2016:”I am happy that my best tennis has returned,”said the former Melbourne queen after a sovereign appearance against the very weak Sharapova. The hyped-up duel between the only two former Australian Open winners left in the tournament was disappointing, but only because of the Russian’s disappointment. Kerber’s solidity and security, on the other hand, impressed by her gained aggressiveness, but she was never seriously endangered by a victory lasting less than an hour.

In her brilliant form, Kerber unintentionally pointed out exactly what Zverev has so far been lacking in the game on the biggest stages: The grabbing power in the Big Points, also the tenacity to push through his own game against all adversities and competition – or to adapt it.”At Sascha I had the feeling that he didn’t have a plan B or plan C, if it didn’t work out with plan A”.

Almost symptomatic of Zverev’s disruption were – from the fourth movement onwards – lengthy battles with the referee, whom he repeatedly asked to finally turn on the floodlights in the Laver Arena. He was no longer able to concentrate on the essentials, i. e. finding a way out of the mental and playful crisis. In the last act he received the bitter maximum penalty, scoring only five points in the Grand Slam downfall. Later Zverev also spoke about the pressure he feels he is under – especially in the Grand Slams:”Many people expect a lot from me, even a victory. But I’m only 20, not many people have made it yet.”

In Australia they now remain both, Grand Slam hopefully Kerber just like Zverev. In Monday’s round of the last sixteen, the resurgent Kieler will face either Taiwanese Su-Wie Hsieh or her Polish friend Agnieszka Radwanska. Zverev is already preparing for the German Davis Cup match against Australia, which will take place on the weekend after next week-end (2. till 4. February) in Brisbane.