Mischa Zverev won the first round of the 2018 US Open. Until his body suddenly went on strike in the match against Taylor Fritz. Zverev identified the reason for this: the new beverage mix.
By Jens Huiber from New York City
Mischa Zverev is a selected polite man. At the press conference after his five-set defeat at the start of the US Open 2018, the 31-year-old apologised for his late arrival, which was not necessary because the assembled journalists would have reacted with the greatest understanding if Zverev had said after his almost four-hour match under the most difficult conditions against Taylor Fritz: “Sorry, not today.
But there he was in Interview Room 2, which is at least ten times smaller than Interview Room 1, but just as well chilled. Florian Mayer had been a guest before Zverev and had spoken of “criminal” conditions in view of the expected conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Mischa Zverev didn’t want to go that far: “That’s what we’re training for.” He even longer than Mayer, the Bayreuther will no longer struggle on the ATP tour. Zverev said he was looking forward to the indoor tournaments in autumn, where one thing is certain: the electrolyte drink in front of Mischa Zverev’s chair will be different from the one at the US Open 2018.
After Wimbledon, he had received a new drink, which he did not really want to light up in Washington: There, cramps already appeared after two sentences. “That’s not supposed to happen.” In the match against Fritz, he felt fit after the third set – and yet he thought he would get a cramp with every serve.
Zverev had dominated the American for two sentences – and then addressed his frustration about the sudden loss of energy to his box. “Of course they couldn’t help it,” said the world’s number 48. But it was just bitter that he now had his own mixed drinks on the court, even during the days before strictly according to plan and drunk a lot. And then the power is lacking.
Incidentally, the mishap does not allow conclusions to be drawn about Brother Sasha’s prospects. The German number one, who opens the tournament against Peter Polansky on Thursday, is a completely different type from him, Mischa. But in the coming days he will concentrate on beverages of a completely different kind anyway: He becomes a father for the first time at the beginning of September.