ATP: Sascha Zverev, Novak Djokovic, the Arch of Triumph – and a surprise guest

Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev will continue to serve with HEAD. This was announced at a press conference in Paris in the run-up to the French Open.

By Jens Huiber from Paris

And then suddenly Mansour Bahrami appeared, the great entertainer from Iran, who has long since taken root in France. Bahrami gave his entrance on Wednesday on a beautiful roof terrace from which even inexperienced athletes could have thrown a tennis ball at the Arc de Triomphe without much effort.

Bahrami, however, only gave the supporting actor, even though he was well dressed. Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic, who celebrated the party in their honour, made the same claim. The twelve-time major winner from Belgrade and the German number one extended their contracts with racquet supplier HEAD.

The head of the company, Johan Eliasch, based in Kennelbach in Vorarlberg, had also travelled to the French metropolis on this occasion. And Eliasch’s optimism did not go unheeded, predicting a career of historic proportions for both players.

Djokovic has, of course, already come halfway there, with the Serb leading at least twelve major victories on his letterhead, the last one in Roland Garros in 2016. Since then, Djokovic’s sporting successes have slowed down somewhat, also due to a protracted elbow injury.

He had resisted surgery for as long as possible, Djokovic explained in Paris. Until there was no other way out. And now he must show a quality that he rarely needed in his career: patience.

Omnipresent, although not present: Rafael Nadal. After all, both players were introduced by the Master of Ceremony as those who “narrowly failed” last week. The Spanish matador in Rome. Zverev and Djokovic had fun with it, the mutual appreciation is great anyway.

When he watches Djokovic training in Monte Carlo, he still sees a physical animal, explained the 21-year-old third in the world rankings. Djokovic, on the other hand, praised both the playful and human abilities of his brand colleague. Of course, he also invests enormously in his training.

Mansour Bahrami could not have been accused of such a thing. He always knew how to impress with finesse and charm and was mainly successful in doubles. For an evening at the Arc de Triomphe, however, the legend from Iran was the perfect complement.