Davis Cup team boss Michael Kohlmann has defended Alexander Zverev after his early retirement in Wimbledon and rejected accusations of arrogance against Germany’s tennis hopes.
“I’m sure that comes across wrong, and I want to protect him there. He is also one of them all in the Davis Cup, an absolute team player,” said Kohlmann in an interview with Sport1.
He was confident that Zverev would become calmer in the future, Kohlmann said. “That he’s emotional and a guy is also the reason why people like to watch him. With a Boris Becker, one also suffered and was feverish. Sascha is also going in that direction, he is also an emotional player. Such players polarize partially, but he is not arrogant at all, you can ask any other player. He’s also incredibly polite and incredibly nice to his German colleagues.”
Kohlmann also explained that Zverev must save energy in the first rounds of Grand Slams in order to celebrate success. “That is certainly the approach,” said Kohlmann. Third in the world rankings, Zverev has only reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament so far. In Wimbledon, the 21-year-old failed in round three due to Latvian Ernests Gulbis, in round two he needed five sets against Taylor Fritz (USA).