ATP: Sascha Zverev: “Lendl and I are still in the fillter weeks”

Alexander Zverev has had an additional coach since the US Open – Ivan Lendl has taken care of the youngster. Despite the lack of a coup so far, the German is very satisfied with his new coach.

In an interview with the Aargauer Zeitung, the three-time winner of the Masters 1000 tournament at the Basel Swiss Indoors expressed his positive opinion about the working relationship with Ivan Lendl. “We’re still on our honeymoon. Everything is wonderful,” says the 21-year-old.

Since the beginning of the cooperation Zverev reached the third round at the US Open, in Beijing he was already at the end after two games and in Shanghai he failed in the semi-final against the later tournament winner Novak Djokovic. Probably still a little too little for the high demands of the world ranking fifth.

Nevertheless, the Hamburg native does not doubt the competence of his coach for a second. Lendl already made Andy Murray an absolute world-class player and led him to Grand Slam triumphs in New York and Wimbledon. Zverev is hoping for something similar: “I chose him to improve my game and hopefully win the biggest tournaments in the world at some point.”

The German is still trained by his father. There are no problems at all between him and Lendl, says Zverev. “My father and Ivan know each other very well. The cooperation works perfectly.”

For the tournament in Basel, Zverev wants one thing above all else: a duel with Roger Federer. A match with the “Maestro” would not only be a source of enthusiasm for the North Germans because of the high quality of the play. “We spend a lot of time outside the square and like to talk to each other,” says Zverev, giving insights into the intimate relationship with Federer.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion is therefore not only an absolute role model for the 21-year-old on the pitch. Everyone knows the Swiss tennis legend and the greatest sportsman of all time, but he is also a true role model off court. “He’s a really great guy.”