US Open: Zverev after Knockout against Kohlschreiber: The old Grand Slam problems

Alexander Zverev surprisingly dropped out of the US Open on Saturday. Against compatriot Philipp Kohlschreiber, the 21-year-old lost in four sets and must thus continue to wait for a great success at a Grand Slam tournament – despite the support of his new coach.

Ivan Lendl looked with the usual fierceness when his new protégé Alexander Zverev once again dismembered himself at a Grand Slam show. Lendl – aka “Ivan the Terrible” – always has that look on his face, of course, there’s almost only that sinister look on his face, but on Saturday night it was a perfect match for what happened at the Louis Armstrong Court at the US Open, Zverev’s bitter 7:6, 4:6, 1:6, 3:6 defeat against German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber.

For two tournament games Zverev had played his way through the field with some confidence, before the allegedly cramp-relieving Grand Slam effect of Neuzuganz Lendl was gone again in the duel with Davis Cup sidekick Kohlschreiber. “I never played the whole match well,” said Zverev after the veritable bankruptcy that ended the Grand Slam year prematurely.

Kohlschreiber’s very good to outstanding performance was one thing in this inner-German duel at the US Open, Zverev’s lack of answers to the clever, sophisticated performance of the elderly was another. The comparison may be unfair: But those who have seen the matches of Rafael Nadal against the Russian Karen Khachanov or Roger Federer against the erratic Nick Kyrgios in the last few days also saw the distance between the superstars of the industry and Zverev at the Grand Slam tournaments.

Nadal’s untiring fighting spirit, his match-hardness were as impressive as Federer’s brilliant strategy and cool head – but Zverev’s playing seemed rather immature, one-dimensional, not balanced. Do you have to charge Zverev against the matador or the maestro?

Obviously, if you take Lendl’s commitment as proof. It may be interpreted in such a way that Zverev wants to come within reach of the major titles sooner rather than later, even in the active times of the old Titans. With Lendl he wanted to take the “next step”, Zverev said about the new martinet.

But the next step is of enormous measure, rather there are still many smaller steps to go. The demands behind the Lendl transfer are high, but so is the height of failure. One often gets the impression that Zverev – besides many experts and observers in the industry – forgets completely that he is only 21 years old. And you don’t have to win Grand Slam tournaments yet, but have to continue with hard, consistent development work.

The question remains: Is Lendl’s commitment coming too early or at just the right moment, if it were a long-term project?

Zverev fell victim to Kohlschreiber not only because of the strong mentality and playful technique of the experienced Bavarian. For quite some time it was again a fight of Zverev against himself, against the Grand Slam tension, against the pressure of expectation, against the new burden to have to prove himself under Lendls eyes.

Riding and nervous, Zverev’s last appearance on the US Open stage seemed like a fragile giant in the second largest US Open arena – always latent in the danger of losing control of the match and his own temperament. In the fourth set, the Hamburg native, who lives in Monte Carlo, seemed to be able to stage another great shoot in this duel, he led 3-0, was close to a 2-2 set equaliser. Only then to lose the last six games all together, in an irritating playful and mental dissolution process.

And now, who would have thought it, Kohlschreiber, the older tennis master, is actually the last German Mohawk at the US Open – after Zverev was kicked out and the Kerber farewell. On Monday, the 34-year-old will play Japan’s Ace Kei Nishikori – and in his fifth attempt, the first quarter-final advance in New York. “The journey could go a little further,” says Kohlschreiber.