ATP Finals of tennis professionals: Zverev: “25 percent” of my lungs weren’t working

Alexander Zverev is feeling better about his pneumonia, but has also revealed details about his health problems. At the Laver Cup in Berlin at the end of September, a detailed examination revealed that “25 percent” of his lungs were not functioning. “I ended up in the hospital before the Laver Cup when I had a fever of 40 degrees for three days in a row and then at some point I felt like I couldn’t breathe anymore,” said the 27-year-old tennis professional from Hamburg after his opening success at the ATP Finals back in Turin.

Because of pneumonia, the world number two only took a short break and just missed the tournament in Beijing. The French Open finalist then got back into the tournament scene. He failed in the round of 16 in Shanghai, in the quarter-finals in Vienna and most recently won the Masters 1000 tournament in Paris-Bercy before the ATP Finals.

Zverev: “Still gets tired a little quicker”

“I might still get tired a little quicker,” said Zverev after the 6:4, 6:4 win against his Russian opponent in the preliminary round, Andrei Rublyov. “But I feel okay. That doesn’t mean that my lungs are at 100 percent, but I actually feel fit again now.”

Zverev had already explained that he will only be at full performance and hopefully 100 percent again when the coming season begins in Australia. The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the new season, begins in Melbourne in mid-January.

In Turin, Zverev is a title candidate after his tournament victory in Paris-Bercy. The 2021 Olympic champion was convincing against Rublev, but also had to cough during the interview on the pitch.

On Wednesday (8.30 p.m./Sky) the two-time ATP Finals winner will face the Norwegian Casper Ruud in Turin, who initially defeated the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who was also in poor health.