ATP: Alexander Zverev and the Curse of Good Deeds

Alexander Zverev’s successful run catapults the German into the vicinity of the top position on the ATP charts. But the big test will follow at the French Open.

When Alexander Zverev won his first Masters title in Rome last year against Novak Djokovic, this coup was still a sensation. Zverev, the young German, once again plays a leading role at the current Italian Championships, beating Belgian World Cup finalist David Goffin 6-4, 3-6 and 6-3 in an exciting night shift on a very early Saturday morning, entering the last four with confidence and playing world ranked fourth-placed Marin Cilic.

But no one in the industry has been surprised by this, Zverev has been an integral part of the establishment since his breakthrough triumph against Djokovic – at just 21 years old. “I’m happy as things are going for me,” says Zverev, “I just play with the right attitude, good concentration and the necessary bite.

It will soon become clear whether Zverev’s best career run will also lead to better results on the Grand Slam stages. Two Major Cups will be awarded in the coming weeks, first in Paris, then in Wimbledon. It’s also about thousands of world ranking points, possibly even a more favourable starting position to climb even higher than before in third place in the hierarchy.

Before Zverev, only the two titans in the industry, Rafael Nadal (with a title win in Rome) are in first place and Roger Federer in second place. But Nadal and Federer must each defend the points wins of their Grand Slam coups from 2017, Nadal in Paris, Federer on the lawn of Wimbledon.

Zverev will therefore be the focus of attention when the rallies of the Grand Finals begin at Roland Garros Stadium on the weekend after Whitsun. But also for a critical reason, not only because the 21-year-old from Hamburg has recently conquered such an outstanding role in the power play of tennis professionals. Zverev still has a problem at the Grand Slam tournaments, his best result so far is reaching last year’s round of 16 in Wimbledon.

But often he retired early, very early even – and not always against absolute top competition. Zverev also experienced a disillusionment as the pre-season Rome champions, losing to the old Spanish warrior Fernando Verdasco in the first French Open round in Paris. “It wasn’t a consistently bad match,” says Zverev, “but the expectations were different, of course.” At least Zverev wanted, this is a realistic claim, to be part of the second Grand Slam week. And thus in a late tournament phase that matched his other results and performances.

That’s what it’s gonna be about now, a year later. Zverev cannot automatically be considered a tournament favorite or a potential semi-finalist, so there are more competitors in the game. Grand Slam tennis, especially in the challenging gruelling battles in the sand of Paris, is another world. A world in which special experience, strategic skill and past success count. “Zverev needs something like an initial spark in the slams. A result that leaves the doubts behind,” says John McEnroe, the former world’s first and today’s TV expert.

Of course, the question also arises whether Zverev will suffer from the curse of good deeds in this clay court season – if it goes into the matches over three winning sets in Paris. Since the start of the Munich ATP tournament, the 21-year-old has been under competition stress, often enough he also played his matches at adventurous times, late in the evening, at prime time.

With the continual victories up to the title honours in Munich and Madrid, he drove himself away from tiredness. But after his first set loss in the last three weeks against Goffin, he said his bones “hurt a little bit”. But there is no breathing space for Zverev, especially not in this hottest phase of the entire season. In which there is a lot to win, but also a lot to lose.