SIn terms of portability, things are going according to plan for Alexander Zverev in Wimbledon so far, but away from the court the German tennis star is not yet satisfied with the classic lawn. But on the contrary. After he won the opening event, the organizers had criticized for the controversial appointments, he quarreled with his own coaching staff following his second-round success against Japanese lucky loser Yosuke Watanuki. Zverev attacked his father and trainer Alexander senior and brother Mischa.
What happened? The Olympic champion won 6:4, 5:7, 6:2, 6:2, but was obviously unprepared. The number 116 knocked out two aces in the first game with the second serve. The Asian hit the ground at up to 215 km/h.
“I have a neck on my box because we didn’t discuss anything before the match. You can’t do that,” Zverev complained bluntly after the four-set win, in which he wasn’t in serious danger, but was on the pitch longer than desired: “Sure, I have to play better. Sure, he’s a lucky loser. Of course, if I play well, I play better. But they all leaned back a bit. And the you can at a Grand Slam not do.”
“My coaching team didn’t do such a good job there,” Zverev quarrels
And so he couldn’t believe what was happening to him. Already in the first game after said aces he complained loudly to his father and brother, who are responsible for the sport in London. “It was a complete surprise to me that he served at 215 km/h and hit me with two aces in the first service game. I had no idea. These are things that I would like to take with me to the pitch. My coaching team didn’t do such a good job today,” Zverev quarreled after the match.
On Thursday after winning the first round, he announced that he wanted to watch the Japanese, who was also unknown to him, on YouTube. what went wrong “Apparently nobody did that. I do not do that. I am not available digitally at tournaments. My phone is in flight mode and only for the diabetes app. Social media are gone, I don’t look much at the iPad to keep my eyes fresh.”
Tobias Kamke usually does the analysis, but he plays in the Bundesliga and is not on Church Road. “Then someone else has to do it. I didn’t realize how strong he was until he gave me four aces at 320 km/h. Before that you think: Ok, the Japanese play from the baseline and don’t serve that quickly. Then he knocks things out. That’s when I knew: It’s going to be interesting today.”
But that wasn’t the only crash. Because he shouted “F… Shit” and a line judge heard that and reported him to the chair umpire, he got a warning. “She takes herself more seriously than she is,” he said to the referee. Zverev can’t stand Petzen at all.
Normally he swears in Russian, now this time in English and the trouble came immediately. The two-time world champion: “I spoke to Hugo about the situation (Physiotherapist Hugo Gravil, a Frenchman, the editors). The linesman didn’t like that. But Wimbledon has its own rules.” But that’s what gnaws at him. “Yeah, I used the F-word, but she just acted like I offended half the world. But it was all about me. But the extra, the pomposity in Wimbledon, that doesn’t have to be. That bothers me.”
Zverev did not say whether there would be normal preparation before the third round match against Italian Matteo Berrettini this Saturday. The advantage is that Zverev knows the 2021 Wimbledon finalist well. Zverev won four of five duels. In addition, both trained together in the run-up to Wimbledon. “He’s one of the best grass players out there. It’s going to be difficult,” Zverev was able to report without any special preparation.
His game is scheduled for the early evening as the third game after 2 p.m. (Sky) in the second largest stadium in the complex. Before the Zverev game, the pitch will host Daniil Medvedev from Russia and Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics, as well as between Russia’s Anna Blinkova and Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus. Zverev is the last remaining German professional in the tournament.
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