Alexander Zverev is a man of clear words.
At least that's what the tennis player says of himself. He was someone “who says things as they really are,” he said in a podcast on ARD just a few weeks ago.
That has given him problems many times, but it corresponds to his character.
You will not hear from him empty game analyzes or empty athlete phrases.
Pirmin Clossé
Sports editor.
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In fact, after his defeat in the semi-finals of the French Open, Zverev did not even try to hide his frustration.
"I'm not at a stage in my career where I'm happy about big games," he said.
His duel with the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas lasted five sentences on Friday.
In the end he lost 3: 6, 3: 6, 6: 4, 6: 4, 3: 6.
His dream of the first Grand Slam title of his career remains unfulfilled.
He could therefore “not draw anything positive” from his appearance in Paris, said Zverev.
“Participating in the semi-finals doesn't mean anything to me anymore.
That might sound arrogant, but I'm just saying how it is. ”For the German, only one Grand Slam title counts.
The fact that he still has to wait for it at the age of 24 is not an acceptable condition for someone like him, who made it to the top of the world so early.
"In the end it's my fault"
There are reasons why Zverev has not yet been able to take the last step.
The most obvious one is that he still couldn't beat a top 10 player in the four Grand Slams.
Even in the tenth attempt - now against the world number five Tsitsipas - he did not succeed.
Zverev is now solving its mandatory tasks with impressive aplomb.
But as soon as an opponent meets him at eye level, he obviously lacks the necessary assertiveness.
Against Tsitsipas it was the start of the game that Zverev botched. He lost the first set after a break in the first service game. The second, because he suddenly collapsed after a 3-0 lead and gave up six games in a row. While Tsitsipas is now reaching for the title in his first Grand Slam final against Novak Djokovic on Sunday (3 p.m. at Eurosport), Zverev had to digest another disappointment. He did not skimp on self-criticism. "I can't play the first two sets against a top 10 player like that," he said. "At the end of the day, it's my fault."
For Zverev, things are now going on seamlessly. At the tournament in Halle / Westphalia he starts the grass season with a match against Dominik Koepfer. Even at the high point in Wimbledon, he is one of the favorites, although he has only reached the round of 16 there so far. Accordingly, he quickly found his aggressiveness again. "Sometimes tennis is a tough sport," wrote Zverev on Instagram. "But the good thing is that you get new opportunities and new possibilities."