How bad is Alexander Zverev’s knee injury? For a short time it sounded as if his participation in the Olympics was in doubt. Now the Tokyo winner is being examined again.
Alexander Zverev can hope for his “goosebumps moment”. His dream of a second Olympic gold and the honor of being the flag bearer is apparently not in danger of being shattered by his slip-up at Wimbledon. His older brother Mischa Zverev (36) gave the all-clear.
The left knee was, as initially feared, not more seriously damaged than expected, according to the results of a further examination. Even participation in the clay court tournament in his hometown of Hamburg next week is “on the agenda,” brother and manager Mischa Zverev told dpa in response to a query. The gold medalist from Tokyo can probably plan for Paris after all. At the opening ceremony on July 26, Zverev would like to lead the German delegation of more than 450 athletes as flag bearer.
Zverev in the candidate race with Dennis Schröder
“You feel a bit like the captain of the team. It’s the most goosebump-inducing moment. There can’t be a better moment in sport,” enthused the 27-year-old in “Sport Bild”. He has put himself forward for a role in which national basketball team captain Dennis Schröder would also like to play the lead actor. Zverev explained: “For me, it is the greatest honor you can have in sport when you are nominated to lead an entire team and thus an entire country into the games.”
One day after the opening ceremony, the Olympic tennis competition begins, and Zverev hopes to triumph like he did three years ago. On Tuesday, the dream threatened to be shattered when his brother hinted at a darker scenario. There is a suspicion that something worse is happening, he told streaming provider Prime.
During another doctor’s visit in London on Tuesday, the world number four had about 40 milliliters of fluid and blood taken from his knee. “If it’s a fracture in the bone or a hairline crack or whatever, then we’ll have to see how long it takes. But then the Olympics are in danger,” Mischa Zverev explained.
“So much bigger than anything else in sport”
Now everything will stay as the top German player said after his round of 16 exit in five sets at Wimbledon, Mischa Zverev announced. On Monday, the world number four was severely affected by pain in his left knee and was eliminated in five sets at Wimbledon against the American Taylor Fritz.
The Hamburg native diagnosed a bone edema and a strain in the capsule. He made it clear that he would be ready for Paris: “I want to win Paris.” In Hamburg, he could get back to playing clay court tennis after the grass season.
Zverev has repeatedly emphasized the special significance of the Olympic Games for him. Three years ago at the Games in Japan, he immortalized himself in German tennis history with a success that even Boris Becker or Michael Stich had not achieved. “I can’t compare it to anything. It’s so much bigger than anything else in sport,” Zverev said at the time.
Source: Stern
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