Alexander Zverev then allowed himself at least a brief moment of rest.

Without exchanging a word, the 25-year-old and his father were sitting on the players' bench in 17th place at the Australian Open facility in Melbourne late Thursday afternoon.

A quick breather before he would work on his comeback form for the third time that day.

After two minutes, Zverev got up and trained again for an hour.

It has now been more than seven months since the best German tennis player in the semi-finals of the French Open after a battle of attrition with Rafael Nadal twisted his ankle so badly that he tore all three ligaments in the ankle in his right foot.

At that moment, not only the quite realistic dream of the first Grand Slam title burst.

The initially planned comeback at the Davis Cup in September in Hamburg had to be postponed because of bone edema in the injured foot.

Zverev had trained too much too quickly.

Distance to the ball is wrong

After another development program in his adopted home of Monaco, Zverev, like many other tennis stars, started at a controversial show event in Saudi Arabia - and even defeated Novak Djokovic in Dubai.

At the first official ATP tournament of the year, the new team event United Cup in Sydney, there were two sensitive defeats.

The footwork, the distance to the ball and the body language were wrong.

"And the serve was still a disaster," said Zverev in Melbourne in an interview with the FAZ.

He is currently free of pain and playfully it is getting better and better before the first highlight of the year.

"I think the more units I play in total, the better my form as a whole and the more stable my serve becomes," said Zverev, but encouraged patience.

"It's just going to take more time.

You can't just come back after seven months after a serious injury and continue playing like before under match pressure." He is miles away from being a favorite like in 2022.

Small match with Nowitzki

Zverev is working hard to get back to where he once was.

On Thursday alone, he first trained with his buddy Dominic Thiem, followed by an official training match organized by the organizing Australian association on Center Court with slight advantages for the Austrian, before former German NBA star Dirk Nowitzki played in another large arena of the facility was waiting for Zverev.

Nowitzki was an ambitious tennis player in Bavaria as a teenager - he showed signs of it when he exchanged rallies with Zverev.

Zverev visibly enjoyed the exchange and listened carefully to Nowitzki's words.

But it was also another distraction on the way to a more stable form.

"We get along very well"

Zverev had already picked up the bat in a benefit match for Ukrainian war victims on Wednesday.

This is one of the obligations that Zverev and his local manager, Sergej Bubka, are happy to meet.

In addition to the father, Sergi Bruguera again provides the necessary training focus on the pitch.

The Spanish French Open winner from 1993 and 1994 joined Zverev's team from March to May last year.

Mutual trust increased noticeably from event to event in the training sessions.

"For me he was always part of my team and there was no reason to change anything.

It was clear to us that he would return after the injury," says Zverev.

"We get along very well and he understands tennis and my game very well."

detect improvement

In 1996, a serious ankle injury ended the season of clay court specialist Bruguera, who still reached the final of the French Open in 1997.

"I also hope that this experience will help me," said Zverev.

In the first sessions this week, Zverev was flanked by Bruguera and his father.

In the past few days, the father has taken on an observing role.

Bruguera remained the actively engaging coach.

The former Spanish Davis Cup captain corrected again and again when he lacked the courage for Zverev's return movement.

Of course, the serve also remained an issue, in which improvements could definitely be seen in further units with Stan Wawrinka and Daniel Altmaier.

The German Davis Cup team boss Michael Kohlmann, who is also staying in Melbourne, explained: “If there is a lack of self-image, then there are one or two stops in the movement.

The choppy in the serve movement causes errors.

This is also where the speed deficits come from.

He notices the choppy and tries to compensate by not going through so well," explained Kohlmann.

He hopes Zverev can win a few matches in Australia.

The German number one meets in round one on Tuesday on the Peruvian qualifier Juan Pablo Varillas, who is inexperienced on hard court.

“I need that first match to get in.

Then we'll take a look," said Zverev, who only sees himself as a challenger for big titles again in the spring of the clay court season.

After all, the draw in Melbourne is cheap.

After the opener against Varillas, Belgium's David Goffin and Argentina's Diego Schwartzman could wait.

These long-time top players are not in top form either.