In Rio de Janeiro the sun is shining, at 32 degrees Celsius there is a light breeze, and Alexander Zverev is also trying to make good weather on the edge of the tennis court. He was “proud to represent Germany”. He would be “glad” to play his part in another Davis Cup triumph. And to play with the team in Germany again in the future, “that would be a big dream of mine”.
So much patriotism and pathos as in Zverev’s first answer is suspicious even in an interview conducted by the German Tennis Association. Apparently, the Hamburger is very keen to use the Davis Cup match in Brazil to make amends, to present himself as a model professional in the 2016 Olympic tennis stadium and to let the bad pictures that have been circulating about him fade away.
A little over a week has passed since the 24-year-old had an unparalleled freak at the tournament in Acapulco, which resulted in a disqualification, a hefty fine and enormous damage to his image. His apologies for lashing out at the umpire’s chair four times, narrowly missing the referee’s foot, were noted. All the more Zverev wants to prove himself as the sporting leader of the national team and make good headlines.
The third in the world rankings even accepts that his about-face appears as a pure PR measure. Because until he was nominated by national coach Michael Kohlmann after his Acapulco exit last Sunday, Zverev had ignored the Davis Cup since February 2019. On the one hand, as a traditionalist, he doesn’t like the new format, on the other hand, the dates didn’t suit him.
Now, however, Zverev only sees it as a manageable challenge that the games on Brazilian sand this Friday (8 p.m.) and Saturday (6 p.m. both on Sportdeutschland.tv) are between the important hard court tournaments in Mexico and California. After a few days of training, you get used to the circumstances, according to Zverev’s most recent explanation: “You have to be mentally strong to deal with bad jumps or a very slow course.”
The hosts have converted the actual hard court into a clay court especially for the Davis Cup home game. Does it help the outsider against Zverev and Jan-Lennard Struff, who will probably play individually? In doubles, Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz have to deal with the experienced specialists Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares. Melo is not only one of Zverev’s best friends, but was also his doubles partner when Acapulco freaked out. Zverev will not get rid of the shadows of the past so quickly.
