Comment: Crestfallen Alexander Zverev is broken and he needs to find a quick fix

He looked like a man bereft of ideas, a lost soul in a tennis wilderness. As Alexander Zverev attempted to find the words to explain his latest failure in a Grand Slam tournament, his world appeared to have fallen in around him.
It was not just the fact he had lost 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 to Jiri Vesely in a compelling contest on the redesigned Court No,1 at Wimbledon, as this was not the first setback of 2019 for a broken Zverev. It was the cumulative effect of the beatings that have taken their toll.
Like a punch drunk boxer who had taken one too many jabs, the fallen star who has long been tipped to rise to the throne when it eventually vacated by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic cut a lonely figure in a Wimbledon press room that could only feel sympathy for his plight.
“It was kind of a typical Grand Slam match for me. I started off well, then one or two things don’t go my way, and everything kind of a little bit falls apart,” admitted a brutally honest Zverev, who didn’t try to disguise his despair in front of his audience.
“I’m not very high on confidence right now. When I get to the important moments, I had, what, five, six breakpoints in the fourth set alone, can’t take any of those. I had a Love-40, a 15-40. I’m down one breakpoint myself and he takes it immediately, where I miss an easy volley. I didn’t lose this match on tennis. It’s just, yeah, my confidence is below zero right now.”
Zverev went on to open up on his torment, as he admitted he lacked the mental strength to compete in the game’s biggest tournaments.
“It’s just what happens with me. Physically I’m fine. I can play 10 sets, no problem. I don’t really get tired,” he continued. “Mental, I mean, I get down on myself a lot. But, yeah, I don’t think it’s neither of those because mentally I showed I’m quite strong in the last few years. It’s different things I think right now.
“Life is also one thing. Everything that happens outside the court affects you. In the last two days, I would say are very rough for me personally. I’m not going to get into details, but I’m just saying. I have to fix that to play well on the court.”
Zverev’s ongoing legal battle with his former agent is not helping his cause, but this dashing 22-year-old needs to find a way to banish his demons and allow the talent lurking inside him to overflow as many still believe it can.
Federer is an example of a player who needed time to harness his genius before he found the right balance and Zverev has to hope that script will be written for him when his tennis epitaph is penned.
For now, more questions than answers hover over a player who has yet to make a breakthrough when it matters most.
He has time to find a solution, but it appears that Zverev is still looking for answers to a conundrum that is getting more complicated by the week.
Follow us on Twitter @T365Official and like our Facebook page.
More from Tennis365:
-
-
T365 Recall: When Pete Sampras won his first Wimbledon title in 1993
-
Wimbledon 2019: Stories and sub-plots to watch for ahead of the tournament
-
Mats Wilander casts doubts over Roger Federer’s hopes of adding to his major title haul
-
John Nicholson: How John McEnroe and two guys from Teesside helped transform Wimbledon
-
Tennis365’s exclusive masterclass from elite coach ahead of Wimbledon
-
Latest
-
News
More Australian Open players go into isolation taking number up to 72
Forty-seven had already been quarantined.
-
News
How Australian Open players are keeping themselves occupied in quarantine
A total of 47 players were told they would have to stay in their rooms for 14 days.
-
News
Australian Open preparations rocked by fourth positive Covid case
A positive test was returned on a charter flight from LA.
-
News
Players were made aware of isolation risks on arrival to Australia – Craig Tiley
Forty seven players to remain in their hotel rooms.
-
Australian Open
Andy Murray’s waiting game as anger mounts after tennis players fly in for Australian Open
Will Andy Murray be allowed to fly to Melbourne?
-
News
Positive Covid cases on flights to Australia put 47 players in 14-day quarantine
Three people across two chartered flights carrying the Open hopefuls tested positive for coronavirus upon their arrival in Melbourne.
-
Tennis News
Bernard Tomic still has drive to compete, saying ‘I don’t need to play tennis again, I’ve got enough money’
“I’m risking my life, and I’m playing and competing.”
-
Tennis News
Dominic Thiem: ‘My wish for 2021 is to win a second Grand Slam title’
Dominic Thiem eyes a second Grand Slam trophy.
-
Australian Open
VIDEO and PICS: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams among tennis stars to arrive in Australia
This way for a video and pics of arrivals in Australia.