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Alexander Zverev wystąpił w obronie Novaka Djokovicia, który starał się pomóc graczom zamkniętym na tzw. twardej kwarantannie w Melbourne. - Po prostu występował w obronie innych - stwierdził niemiecki tenisista.
Rafał Smoliński
Rafał Smoliński
30 Stycznia 2021, 16:52

Alexander Zverev
PAP/EPA / ANDY RAIN / Na zdjęciu: Alexander Zverev

Tenis. Co ze zdrowiem Novaka Djokovicia? "Nie czuję się najlepiej"
Większość tenisistów zakończyła już obowiązkową dwutygodniową kwarantannę, która była dla graczy czasem próby. Nie wszyscy, mimo negatywnego wyniku na COVID-19, mogli normalnie trenować na korcie czy w siłowni. Część zawodników zamknięto w pokojach, ponieważ mieli kontakt z osobą zakażoną koronawirusem SARS-CoV-2.
Lider rankingu ATP, Novak Djoković, wstawił się u organizatorów za graczy przebywających w Melbourne. "Nole" zebrał listę postulatów i poprosił dyrektora Craiga Tileya, aby pozwolić tenisistom lepiej przygotować się do Australian Open 2021. Prasa na Antypodach "podziękowała" jednak Serbowi za tę próbę, wypominając mu zachowanie w cyklu Adria Tour, podczas którego pojawiły się przypadki COVID-19.


Djoković wydał oświadczenie (więcej tutaj), w którym poinformował, iż jego celem była jedynie pomoc dla graczy. W podobnym tonie wypowiedział się w rozmowie z Eurosportem Alexander Zverev. - Wszyscy byliśmy na naszym czacie. Novak był na nim jako lider i numer jeden na świecie, więc to on wysłał emaila. To nie był jego własny list, były w nim zawarte punkty, o które pytali inni gracze. Novak znów został przedstawiony jako zły facet, co nie jest prawdą, ponieważ po prostu występował w obronie innych.

ZOBACZ WIDEO: Najwyższy poziom organizacji podczas Australian Open. "Mimo kwarantanny Iga mogła bez problemów trenować"
ZAMKNIJ
W sobotę Zverev opowiedział również o tym, co myśli na temat zakwaterowania topowych graczy w Adelajdzie. - Myślę, że chyba jedynym prawdziwym błędem była możliwość przebywania czołowych tenisistów w Adelajdzie. Mieli tam więcej czasu na treningi, uzyskali więcej swobody - wyznał reprezentant Niemiec.

Na kwarantannie w Adelajdzie znaleźli się m.in. Novak Djoković, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams czy Naomi Osaka. Wszyscy wzięli w piątek udział w pokazowej imprezie A Day at the Drive (więcej tutaj), po czym udali się do Melbourne, gdzie wystąpią w zawodach przygotowujących do Australian Open 2021. Wielkoszlemowy turniej odbędzie się w dniach 8-21 lutego.

Germany will face Serbia for semi-final spot
World No. 7 Alexander Zverev rallied from a set down to claim his first victory for Germany at the ATP Cup on Wednesday, edging Denis Shapovalov in three-tightly contested sets, 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(4).

Zverev’s victory also eliminated Canada from contention after teammate Jan-Lennard Struff clinched the first point for Germany against Milos Raonic earlier in the day. Germany will face defending champion Serbia, led by World No.1 Novak Djokovic, in a ‘win-and-you’re-in’ battle for a semi-final spot on Thursday.

There was revenge on the line for Zverev as he took the court on Rod Laver Arena against the same player who defeated him at this stage in last year’s ATP Cup. Zverev went 0-3 for Germany in 2020, including a one-sided defeat to Shapovalov 6-2, 6-2 as his country was eliminated in the group stage.

Zverev dealt the same fate to Shapovalov on Wednesday, recovering emphatically after narrowly dropping an opening set that was decided by the finest of margins. A single mini-break in the tie-break made the difference, as Zverev and Shapovalov traded blows throughout a server’s contest.

How To Watch

But Shapovalov couldn't maintain the level in the second set, and Zverev seized his opportunity. The German pounced on attackable Shapovalov serves, and was rewarded with the first break of the match to take the lead at 3-1 with a searing forehand passing shot. He showed his grit as he saved three break points to take the second set.

Zverev continued to chip away at Shapovalov, creating six break chances in the final set. He couldn’t shake off the Canadian as they marched to a final tie-break. He turned around an early deficit, won four points in a row and struck back-to-back aces to close out the match after nearly three hours on court (2h 53m).

Earlier in the day, Germany’s No. 2 singles player Jan-Lennard Struff secured the first point for his country after taking down former World No. 3 Milos Raonic 7-6(4), 7-6(1) to start his ATP Cup campaign.

Struff’s victory put Team Germany in a comfortable position as they started in Group A, which also includes defending champion Serbia. But it also meant that alarm bells were ringing for Team Canada, who sat one defeat away from elimination after losing to Serbia on Day 1.



Struff, No. 37 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, kept pace with the big serving Canadian throughout a tense opening set without any break points on offer. Raonic was impenetrable in the first set, and didn’t lose more than one point in any of his service games. But Struff stayed patient, and was rewarded in the tie-break. He managed to get a racquet on his first return, and outlasted Raonic to earn the mini-break. Raonic couldn’t dig himself back as Struff escaped with the first set.

The German handed Raonic his first break of serve at the ATP Cup to take a 2-0 lead in the second set, but the Canadian responded in kind to level the score 2-2. Raonic survived three double faults in the same game and saved five break points in a lengthy battle for 4-4. But Struff once again found his best tennis in the tie-break, winning the first five points in a row before closing out the victory after two hours on court.

“I knew that playing against Milos [would be] very tough. He is serving so [well], he’s won so many tournaments and he’s such a good champion,” Struff said on court. “In our three meetings, I beat him once before. So I knew I would have to play a good match, and I’m very pleased with the way I played. I played very good tie-breaks in both sets.”

Struff defeated Lajovic as Germany beat Serbia 2-1
Alexander Zverev bounced back after a tough singles defeat to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic Friday to send Germany into the ATP Cup semi-finals for the first time. The World No. 7 partnered Jan-Lennard Struff to victory in the deciding doubles rubber against Djokovic and Nikola Cacic 7-6(4), 5-7, 10-7.

Struff was Germany's hero, having earlier won the No. 2 singles against Dusan Lajovic, before teaming with Zverev to seal the tie for Germany 2-1, knocking out the defending champion. Germany advances to face Russia, the Group D winner, in Saturday's semi-finals, with the final to be played Sunday. Team Russia is led by the double threat of Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, who are both ranked inside the Top 10 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

“Obviously, [Russia is a] great team. Daniil Medvedev [is in] great shape. Rublev [is in] very good shape. But we too are also in good shape, so [it is] going to be [a] very interesting, intense tie and I hope we can beat them,” said Germany captain Mischa Zverev.

In a dramatic doubles, the Germans won six straight points from 2/4 down in the Match Tie-break, freezing out Djokovic at every opportunity and directing as much traffic as possible to the more inexperienced Cacic. In last year's ATP Cup final, Djokovic backed up from his singles win over Rafael Nadal to partner Viktor Troicki in the deciding doubles, which earned Serbia the inaugural title.

“I think we played maybe a little bit more aggressive [in the doubles]. In the end, we maybe took a few more shots, but it was so tight it could have gone both ways,” said Alexander Zverev. “At the end of the day, when you win the doubles decider 10-7 in the third set there's not much between the two. We're just super happy right now.”

In the No.1 singles match, Djokovic extended his record at the ATP Cup to 11 straight victories after winning a three-set thriller against Zverev 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5 to keep defending Serbia alive in the tie.

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“I thought we both played well,” Djokovic said on court. “He definitely had a big serving match. It was so difficult to play against him today. Missiles from the other side of the court, both first and second serve. He was going for it, not too many double faults. You’ve got to give him credit for being courageous and trying his best... Overall it was a very enjoyable match.”

There was little to separate Zverev and Djokovic throughout a tense opening set under the roof in Rod Laver Arena. There were no break points on offer as both players leaned on big first serves to take control of the rallies. Zverev pulled away in the tiebreak, and closed out the set with an ace.


The Serbian adjusted his return position to deal with Zverev’s powerful second serves, the German gambling with first-serve levels of speed and power. Djokovic took a step back, and was rewarded with his first break of the match. He reeled off three games in a row to take a 5-2 lead with a perfectly placed lob landing plumb on the line.

Djokovic broke through late in the third set to take a 5-4 lead, but struggled to close it out the as the German saved a match point. With his back against the wall, Zverev finally earned his first break chance of the match in the third, breaking the World No. 1 to level the score. But two double faults in the next game undid his effort, and gave Djokovic the opening to break back and claim his 11th consecutive ATP Cup victory.

“Staying on the line with 220, 217 [kph] second serves, it’s a huge risk,” Djokovic said of his second-set adjustments. “I tried to read his serve. [In the] second set I started to read his patterns a little bit better.

“The third set was a gamble, really. It was anybody’s game. He double faulted on a break point, it was a crucial game. I was 15/30 down, I went for it also, a big second serve. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t.”


Earlier in the day, Struff took Germany to the brink of its first appearance in the ATP Cup semi-finals after rallying to defeat Dusan Lajovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 under the closed roof at Rod Laver Arena.

Struff, who also represented Germany in 2020, won his third consecutive ATP Cup match with an upset over former World No. 3 Milos Raonic to give his country a winning start, and backed it up against a Lajovic that came out swinging in the opening set. The Serbian outlasted him at the baseline to claim the first break of the match at 4-2. He exploited the German’s movement as he continually dragged Struff out wide and followed up with down-the-line winners to close out the opening set.

How To Watch

But Struff raised his level in the second set, and saved four break points across two service games to keep Lajovic at bay. The German finally broke through at 5-3, and levelled the score after serving out the set to love. Lajovic looked to be struggling physically, and needed a medical time out to treat blisters on his feet after dropping the second set.

Struff kept Lajovic on the defence and under pressure with his big serve, and he edged in front after trading breaks of serve for a 5-4 lead. Lajovic couldn’t convert on two more break points as Struff claimed the victory after just over two hours on court.

“ very, very relieved,” Struff said. “It was a tough match. I didn't start very well. Dusan was playing pretty good. He had break points [at the] beginning of the second set. I managed to stay in the match. I managed to gain some more self-confidence there in my strokes… In the third set, I had the feeling I had very good energy from the beginning on. Yeah, very, very happy about this [victory].”

German star to next face Mannarino on Friday

Alexander Zverev played a patient, waiting game on Wednesday night for a place in the Australian Open third round. Two days after beating Marcos Giron, the sixth-seeded German battled past another UCLA alumni, Maxime Cressy, breaking serve four times in a 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 victory over two hours and four minutes on Rod Laver Arena.

“He was an extremely difficult player to play against, having just come out of college,” said Zverev. “I know his kind of game very well and I’m pleased to have won... It's not always easy to play [against] someone like that.”

Zverev was locked in during the 48-minute first set, hitting five aces and nine other winners past Cressy, who lost his serve in the 11th game. Big-serving, net-rushing Cressy pressed in the second set, but could not convert two break points at 2-1.

Zverev continued to chip away, converting his fifth break point at 4-4 with a backhand winner. The German closed out for a two sets lead after he struck his eighth ace. From 4-4 in the second set, Zverev won four of the next five games to take a 3-1 lead in the third set.

The 23-year-old Zverev, who went 1-2 in ATP Cup play last week to help Germany reach the semi-finals, will next play French No. 32 seed Adrian Mannarino in the third round. Mannarino proved to be too strong for Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia, hitting 41 winners in a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 victory in one hour and 50 minutes.

"I played a good level of tennis," said Mannarino. "I'm really happy with the way I was playing. [Kecmanovic] has the type of game that suits me well. He's giving [me] really good pace, and I was just moving well around the court and trying to defend as well as I could. I also thought I've been serving quite well in the key moments. The score looks [as if it was] not that hard, but I think that [it] was a really close match. It could have turned around really quickly, so I'm happy that I was able to leave the court quickly."

Zverev leads Mannarino 5-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, which includes three victories last year at the US Open, en route to the bett1HULKS Championship title in Cologne and also at the Rolex Paris Masters.

Elsewhere, Serbian No. 23 seed Dusan Lajovic withstood 57 winners from Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan to record a 6-4, 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-3 victory over three hours and five minutes. "It was not an easy match today, especially playing a guy who is not giving a lot of rhythm [and] serving very well," said Lajovic. "You can expect anything on the court, so you need to be mentally ready."

Lajovic, who represented Serbia at the ATP Cup, will now challenge Spain’s Pedro Martinez, who defeated Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(5). Martinez also reached the 2020 Roland Garros third round, which represents his best Grand Slam championship run.

German now challenges Lajovic

Sixth seed Alexander Zverev kicked his Australian Open title bid into high gear on Friday with a commanding 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Adrian Mannarino to reach the fourth round.

Zverev, who reached the semi-finals here last year, was facing Mannarino for the fourth time in less than six months when they met inside Rod Laver Arena. Each meeting has been a victorious but hard-fought affair for Zverev, who needed two tie-breaks in their most recent meeting at the Rolex Paris Masters to win 7-6(11), 6-7(7), 6-4.

It was much more straightforward for Zverev against Mannarino, with the German saving all three break points he faced and firing 19 aces and 35 winners en route to victory.

"It was a good match," said Zverev. "I thought I tried to play extremely aggressive, tried to use my chances, and I'm happy with the win. The past few times I played Adrian it was always a very long match, always a very tough match, and happy to get the straight-sets win today."

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Zverev dictated play with clean and patient hitting from the baseline, firing flat and aggressive shots to take time away from Mannarino and control the court. Mannarino struggled to read the German’s powerful serves, especially his second serve – which Zverev regularly hits with as much power and pace as most other players’ first serves.

Mannarino’s return position forced him to either hit the ball high out of his strike zone or cede ground from the baseline. The Frenchman chose the former as he tried to stay aggressive, but as a result he wasn’t able to keep Zverev under pressure for more than a few stretches throughout the match.

“I didn't feel my best, probably because Sascha was playing too well,” said Mannarino. “He was really consistent, serving well, putting a lot of pressure [on me]. When you're on the other side of the net, you feel like you don't have that much time to play, and you need to serve really well. Otherwise, it's going to be complicated because he's serving too well. I think he was just too good.”

Zverev needed an hour and 43 minutes to move into the fourth round, where he will play No. 23 seed Dusan Lajovic of Serbia.

Lajovic equalled his best major championship result by beating Pedro Martinez of Spain 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 in three hours and 13 minutes. The 30-year-old, who improved to 3-0 in his ATP Head2Head series against Martinez, struck 48 winners. He reached the fourth round on his Roland Garros debut in 2014.