Alexander Zverev’s mother doesn’t usually watch her son’s matches from the tennis court. The US Open is an exception – with little chance of a repeat.
When her son plays, Irina Zvereva usually takes the dogs for a walk. Alexander Zverev’s mother usually stays away from matches because she’s nervous. After his visit to the stands at the start of the US Open, which was apparently a surprise for him too, the 27-year-old is therefore not expecting a repeat any time soon on the way to his desired first Grand Slam title.
“My mother has watched me before, but she is not usually someone who sits in the box,” said Zverev, adding with a grin: “When I lost the second set, she left immediately. I don’t think she will sit there anymore.”
At the start of the 2021 Olympic champion’s first-round victory against Maximilian Marterer, his mother sat on the grandstand between Zverev’s girlfriend Sophia Thomalla and manager Sergej Bubka Junior. After a weak second set, Zverev still prevailed in four sets.
For the frequent player, it was already his 53rd victory this year – he now leads the professional rankings with a clear lead over world number one Jannik Sinner. “I have the feeling he is very fit. He could play the whole thing for another two or three hours at this level,” praised his Olympic roommate Marterer, raving about the skills of his Davis Cup teammate. “He has incredible quality in his shots.”
Possible semi-final against Djokovic
Now the world number four is once again the clear favorite in the second round of the Grand Slam tournament in New York against Alexandre Müller. The Frenchman is only a stopover for Zverev, and there could be a possible duel with top favorite Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. The Serb completed his opening match under the floodlights in the Arthur Ashe Stadium with a 6:2, 6:2, 6:4 win against Radu Albot from Moldova, much more easily than Zverev.
He warned against looking too far ahead. “I have to concentrate on myself. If I play good tennis, I feel like I can beat anyone,” he said. “But if I play badly, I can lose against anyone.”
Zverev has repeatedly had to exert himself at the beginning of the two-week tournaments in his career. The two-time Grand Slam finalist has been stopped several times by bruises and injuries in later rounds, most recently the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz wore him down in five sets in the French Open final. Nevertheless, Boris Becker also sees Zverev alongside Djokovic, Sinner and Alcaraz as “among the narrow circle of favorites” to win the title in New York, as he said as a Sportdeutschland.TV expert.
Zverev: “My mother can do what she wants”
During the course of a tournament, Zverev attaches great importance to ensuring that the same people are sitting in his box from start to finish. However, he wants to make an exception for his mother so that she does not have to show up at the court again in the second round. “My mother can do what she wants,” he said. “Mum is mum.”
Like her husband, who trains Zverev, Zvereva used to be a tennis professional herself. She once explained her ritual by saying that she is usually out with the dogs during the matches and is informed of the result by her own mother via phone call. “I’m there, but I’m not watching,” Zvereva said on Eurosport before this year’s French Open final.
Source: Stern
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