Almost apologetically, Alexander Zverev waved at the Munich tennis fans, shaking his head. The Olympic champion avoided direct eye contact with the encouragingly clapping spectators after his crashing round of 16 knockout.
In thermal leggings and with the next damper in his luggage, the birthday boy left the packed center court after the 6: 7 (2: 7), 4: 6 against the significantly worse placed Australian Christopher O’Connell. Zverev’s arduous way back to the top of the world half a year injury break is still very long.
The wintry temperatures of around five degrees Celsius were not to blame for Zverev’s poor performance. “In the last few years I’ve had a hard time coping with the pressure of playing in Germany. I’m incredibly nervous. I don’t show anywhere near the level in the match that I show in training,” said the Hamburger justified his faulty game on Thursday.
Zverev was never able to build on his encouraging performances from Monte Carlo. “When I’m nervous, I don’t play so hard. I move slower. I play slower. That’s a combination of things,” Zverev described his shaky performances on German soil.
He kept interrupting what he was saying. His eyes glittered, he could only hold back his tears with difficulty. “I put the pressure on myself. It doesn’t come from outside,” Zverev clarified. At first he had no solution to the problem. The German does not work with a mental coach. “I don’t believe in that,” he said before the tournament started.
Nevertheless, always happy in Munich
Despite the lack of success, Zverev wants to come back to Munich in the future. “If I’m invited, I’ll always play in Munich,” assured the Davis Cup professional. At first, Zverev did not want to talk about goals for the rest of the clay court season. “I have to come to myself and think,” said the German. The Hamburger is still waiting for the first tournament victory after his comeback in December. He injured his foot badly at the last French Open in Paris.
The 107th edition of the Munich ATP tournament has to do without a German quarter-finalist after Zverev’s exit. Last year’s semi-finalist Oscar Otte from Cologne lost surprisingly against the Italian Flavio Cobolli 0: 6, 6: 3, 3: 6. Daniel Altmaier was beaten by the Russian Aslan Karazew 6:4, 6:7 (2:7), 2:6. Only the 3: 6, 4: 6 of Yannick Hanfmann against the top seed and world ranking seventh Holger Rune from Denmark was expected.
Zverev has to follow the outcome of the ATP tournament on TV. A look at the calendar gives hope for better results – the tennis entourage is now traveling to warmer regions in Madrid and Rome. “Hopefully it will be like every year. I lose the first round here and I win Madrid,” said Zverev. For a brief moment the German had to grin.
The next few weeks will be trend-setting. Zverev has a lot of points to defend. Another performance like in Munich and Germany should soon no longer have a player in the top 30 in the world rankings. But the 26-year-old didn’t think about that on Thursday. “Right now I don’t feel like doing anything,” said the German.
