M1000 Paris Bercy 2024 – And suddenly, Alexander Zverev became the man to beat again

We had almost lost sight of him since his defeat in the quarter-finals of the US Open against future finalist Taylor Fritz. Autumn was largely written without Alexander Zverev. A small eighth in Shanghai, an almost anonymous quarter in Vienna, and nothing else. The fault, in large part, is this pneumonia which has ruined his life since this summer.

“I have inflammation in my lung. It will take about two or three months to disappear completely,” he explained when he withdrew from Beijing. “There, I was very illhe said this week in Paris. I had a pretty high fever during and after the Laver Cup and after the Laver Cup. I ended up in the hospital. I didn’t feel well, I didn’t have the energy to play and I was on antibiotics for a week.”

It was therefore tiptoeing on Zverev arrived at Bercy, where we did not necessarily expect him to have a very high rank on the list of main favorites. Then everything around him became depopulated. Jannik Sinner’s package. That of Novak Djokovic. The entry exit of Daniil Medvedev then that, from the round of 16, of Carlos Alcaraz. After Alex de Minaur’s exit on Friday in the quarter-finals, Zverev is now the only survivor of the Top 10 in the last four with Grigor Dimitrov. Suddenly, the logical favorite for this Rolex Paris Masters 2024 is him. All on the ground or absent and him standing.

But is it really so surprising? Compared to his recent physical problems, yes. But this week, he feels quite good physically, even if he is not yet in full possession of his means. “I still have to take exams in Berlin next weekhe explained Friday. The doctors told me it was going to take a while before I was back to 100%. But this week, it’s OK. The fact that the surface is ultra-fast here is probably a good thing for me, it helps me not to be super tired on the court. There are no long rallies so physically, it’s okay. I’m not 100% but I give 100% of what I have.”

The surface chosen this year by the organizers is indeed a good thing from a physical point of view for him, but this surface is also suitable for playing the big Hamburg jig. “It’s truly one of the fastest courts I’ve ever played on.says the world number 3, who could return to 2nd on Monday in the event of a final at the Accor Arena. The hardest part is finding my rhythm but once I do, I love fast courts like that. I think it suits my game well.”

Its service works wonders in particular. Against Stefanos Tsitsipas, he won 80% of the points behind his first ball and 72% on his second. Result, only one break point conceded (and discarded). The day before, against Arthur Fils, apart from a completely missed game in the second set, he had also served remarkably well. “He is very big, the Frenchman pointed out. It falls from very high, it falls hard and it has all the zones. So, you try to anticipate a little, to understand what he does, but it’s sure that indoors, it’s different. If you’re not in the path of the ball, you can’t return.”

After his title in Rome in the spring, just before Roland-Garros, Sascha Zverev is only two steps away from a new Masters 1000 title. If you had told him that two or three weeks ago, he might have smiled. Today, it is difficult to find a more legitimate favorite than him. He became the man to beat.