Alexander Zverev really enjoys coming to Indian Wells – even though he was always eliminated from the tournament in the Californian desert much earlier than expected. There will be no German duel.
After completing the mandatory task at the start of the tournament in Indian Wells, Alexander Zverev treated himself to a break in the best weather. “I’m going to play golf now,” announced the 26-year-old from Hamburg. The score was 6:4, 6:4 after the duel with Christopher O’Connell from Australia.
“I’m not the best first-round player, you’ve seen that many times, but I think my level was relatively good today,” the Olympic champion told the German Press Agency, noting that he was The victory is already in the third round. A bye had spared him round one.
Since 2017, Zverev has no longer had to start at the top when trying to win the tournament in the Californian desert because of his good rankings in the world rankings. The Hamburger loves coming to the tennis paradise, as the organizers of the Masters modestly advertise. “If you look at the facility, how many training pitches there are here, how many beautiful stadiums there are here, they invested a lot in the tournament and it was very successful,” praised Zverev.
Never made it to the semi-finals
However, he has never made it past the quarter-finals in the competition run by former German professional Tommy Haas. “I was always very close to playing very well and then I just missed it,” Zverev recalled of the 7:6 (7:5), 6:7 (5:7), 5:7 in the round of 16 against Daniil Medvedev last year or the 6:4, 3:6, 6:7 (3:7) in the quarterfinals against Taylor Fritz two years earlier. “It was always one or two points,” said Zverev. “But: I can remember Cincinnati. Before I won the tournament, I lost the first round there seven times and never won a match.”
Most recently in Acapulco, Zverev was eliminated in the first round after a defeat against Daniel Altmaier. Advantage: He could arrive very early. “I tried different things with my racket, I tried different things with my sides,” Zverev said. “Maybe I’ve found a way now.”
Zverev is now back in a position to make confident statements. After the serious injury at the French Open 2022, when he broke his ankle in the semifinals against Rafael Nadal, he is back to his pre-injury level. “I was two points away from being in the final at the Australian Open. I think you won’t get there if you play badly. I’m happy with the way I’m playing,” he said before the win against O’Connell .
In the third round of the hard court tournament, which is endowed with 12.4 million US dollars (approx. 11.4 million euros), he will face the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, who won against Yannik Hanfmann 6:3, 6:3 and a German Duel for a place in the round of 16 prevented.
Source: Stern
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