ATP Finals: Alexander Zverev explains Lendl commentary: “I’m very disciplined.

Alexander Zverev surprised with a statement about discipline and co. on Wednesday – now he has made the matter more concrete.

By Florian Goosmann from London

“If I’m treated strictly when it comes to rules and co., the relationship won’t last very long. He understood that very quickly, I think.”

It was a neat statement that Alexander Zverev made after the match against Novak Djokovic – especially when you consider who she was referring to: Ivan Lendl, who in his heyday was often christened “Ivan the Terrible”. The man who never smiled during active times, who liked to shoot down his opponents and set new standards in men’s tennis with iron discipline, a new nutrition concept and strict fitness training. And as a coach, he even managed to keep Andy Murray from roaring at his box.

In other words: a man for whom discipline does not really seem to be a foreign word.

Did Zverev just make a joke – which in turn could have been in the spirit of his new coach, known for his dry humour? A British reporter went to the press conference after the Isner match. The surprising answer of the German: “No.”

He simply didn’t want to be put in this corner, explained Zverev, whose coaching relationship with Juan Carlos Ferrero had failed precisely because of the German’s alleged lack of discipline, as the Spaniard had explained after the end.

“I know what I want,” Zverev continued. “I’m late sometimes. To unimportant things, but not to training. I’ll be late for dinner or five minutes late for the car when we leave.”

He was “very very disciplined” on the court, “I work hard”, Zverev continued. “Because I know what I want: I want to be the best. And with a different attitude, it doesn’t work. I know that.”

And then Zverev took up a lance for Lendl, who always sits so motionless in the pits that one wonders whether he is breathing at all. “I was surprised he’s actually a very, very nice guy. I didn’t know that. I didn’t know that. He’s very warm-hearted. People with whom he is closely connected, whom he loves – he would do anything for them. I admire that,” enthused the 21-year-old. And he said, “I’m trying to be like that, too.”