At Wimbledon, Sascha Zverev had to battle hard with his injury and his participation in the ATP Hamburg, which he loves so much, was questionable until the very end.
In the end, however, he competed and was victorious in two sets, albeit with physical complications.
Zverev explains the extent of his injury and why matches on clay should not lead to a complete break. He explains why grass is the most dangerous surface in tennis and how much being the flag bearer at the Olympics would mean to him
Zverev on injury: “Will take up to six weeks “
Alexander Zverev said days ago that his match against Jesper de Jong would only be decided at short notice, and in the end it was.
“This morning I didn’t know whether I would play or not. I didn’t feel so good in the warm-up, but after a treatment on my knee it felt much better and then I decided to play,” said Zverev after his 6-2, 6-2 victory.
In the end, however, things went much better than the 27-year-old had anticipated: “I haven’t felt so comfortable on court since the injury and I felt much better than I had expected. I’m very happy about that, of course.”
“I assume that I will continue to play now. Now I know how my body reacts to playing,” he reassures his fans and the organizers. On July 18, the tournament continues in the round of 16 against Hugo Gaston.
“Of course it wasn’t the most intense match. It wasn’t the toughest match, but it was still a full match and it was still a question mark for me. I don’t want to give up during a match. I’ve only done that once in my life so far. ”
“Movement is not possible on clay “
In addition, Zverev explained his injury in a little more detail: “I have a small broken bone and the broken bone can only be loaded if I do the same movement again. That is, if I fully extend my knee and then go into hyperextension.”
“I’ve been playing tennis for twenty-five years and I’ve never done this movement on clay and I don’t think it’s possible to do it on clay. So if I do it for the first time in twenty-five years, then I’m too stupid and I’ll have a complete break.”
This opinion was also confirmed to him by experts: “That was also the opinion of my brother and many experts, that if you look at the movements on sand, you can’t do the movement that I did. That’s why I don’t see any danger. It’s a bone and it will take weeks to heal completely.”
“It’s not like it’s getting better every day; it will take three to six weeks. Then I’ll have to decide whether I can play during that time,” nevertheless a bit of bad news.
Zverev also quickly identified the culprit, the surface at Wimbledon: “Grass is definitely the most dangerous surface. These things can happen in any match on grass, and it also happened to me against Norrie. You slip and your body gets into a weird position, which doesn’t normally happen on clay.”
He continued: “You have better control on clay when you slip than on grass. You’ve seen how many players have retired or had to retire at Wimbledon this year, so I think grass is definitely the most dangerous surface, especially when it’s not completely dry. ”
Being a flag bearer is “the biggest honor you can get “
“If someone told me to run in as a flag bearer, it would honestly mean even more to me (than winning the Olympic Games, editor’s note). But if I’m at the tournament, I want to win it, that’s always my attitude. A medal at the Olympic Games is always something special, no matter what it is. If it’s gold, of course it’s special and that will be my goal.”
“If I’m the flag bearer and I play on Saturday, I won’t play on Saturday, I’ll play on Sunday. That has been agreed with the ITF. If I’m not the flag bearer, I might play on Saturday. So it depends on the schedule whether I will be there or not.”
However, he is not yet certain of the position, much to Zverev’s incomprehension: “That’s why I don’t quite understand the rule, because I was clearly told that I wouldn’t be nominated as the flag bearer if I played a match on Saturday. Let’s see.”
“Ultimately, it’s a great honor for me, because the Olympic Games are the biggest sporting event in the world, along with the World Cup. To lead an entire nation and so many top German athletes to the Olympic Games is simply the greatest honor that can be bestowed on an athlete2, enthuses the German.
“And of course the gold medal I won at the last Olympics is one of the highest achievements you can have in sport and for me personally the greatest success in my career. If I could carry the flag, that would add even more to it. I would be delighted if the athletes and the German people saw me as their flag bearer and captain, leading them into the Olympic Games. “
