München – When the heavy drops rained down on Munich’s Center Court, Alexander Zverev rushed to the clubhouse as quickly as he could. By fleeing to dry land, Germany’s best tennis player refuted at least one of his own – not entirely serious – assessments. “I’m getting old,” Zverev joked before the round of 16 at the BMW Open. The Olympic champion was asked about his 27th birthday on Saturday, but was not seriously annoyed.
The world number five appeared very confident and relaxed when he presented himself to journalists at the clay court tournament in the north of Munich. On Wednesday, the good mood was only slightly dampened for a short time when Zverev’s opening match against the Austrian Jurij Rodionov had to be interrupted twice due to rain. There was a total wait of more than three hours.
As feared, the dark clouds had dumped a lot of rain and sometimes even hail on the facility on Aumeisterweg. In the morning it even snowed briefly in the Bavarian capital – with uncomfortable temperatures of eight degrees, Zverev’s comfort level on the pitch was limited. But he stayed cool and ultimately advanced confidently with a 7:6 (7:3), 6:2.
Lob an die Fans
And he had fun. When he was asked on the pitch after match point what he thought of the good mood of the remaining fans despite the weather, he replied: “I would have drunk 16 beers if I had had six hours. It was a great atmosphere. It’s great that you all stayed there.”
After 2017 and 2018, the Hamburg native wants to win in Munich for the third time. But his gaze continues. “I am overjoyed with what I have already achieved in life. But I don’t want to stop here,” he announced. He still has two big goals left for him, as he emphasized: becoming number one in the world and winning a Grand Slam. “I think I’m on the right track,” assessed Zverev.
He recalled that he was very close to the top of the world rankings in 2022, but then was injured in the semi-finals of the French Open and was out for a long time. In the final of the US Open 2020, he was only two points short of winning the tournament against Austrian Dominic Thiem. Thiem was also at the start in Munich, but after a long-term and nerve-racking wrist injury, he suffered the next setback in the first round exit.
With a lot of optimism towards Paris
Perhaps Zverev was also thinking of his rival from the Alpine republic when he said: “A professional career as an athlete has to be valued very much. The older you get, the more you understand that this won’t last forever, that you won’t live this life forever. Some enjoy it, some enjoy it less. I love it. I value it more the older I get. But I’m still not old.” Then he grinned broadly.
Zverev wants to draw a lot of optimism from this year of tennis. At the Australian Open, for example, he reached the semi-finals, and even the relatively early exit in Monte Carlo did not leave him frustrated. “I am relatively sure that I will find my form,” he announced with regard to the recently started clay court season with the climax at the French Open.
And the Olympics are coming up in France’s capital in the summer. Then Zverev wants to play for medals again in a good mood – and at least doesn’t have to worry about single-digit temperatures like currently in Munich.