Alexander Zverev issues injury update amid ATP Finals concern
Alexander Zverev admitted that he did not “stand a chance” against Jannik Sinner at the Paris Masters as he addressed injury concerns ahead of the ATP Finals in Turin.
Third seed Zverev saw his Paris Masters title defence come to an emphatic end on Monday, with second seed Sinner dropping just one game in a dominant 6-0, 6-1 win inside the La Defense Arena.
The match took just 61 minutes to complete and was a stark contrast to the Vienna Open final that the two men contested just six days before, where it took almost three hours for Sinner to claim a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory.
Zverev’s season has been disrupted since the summer due to lingering injury issues, with a back problem affecting the 28-year-old across the US hard-court swing.
However, perhaps more concerningly for the world No 3, he was troubled by his ankle on Saturday — the same ankle that he significantly injured during the semi-final of the 2022 French Open.
The injury issue comes just one week before the start of the ATP Finals, with the three-time Grand Slam finalist having impressively qualified for the year-end championships for the eighth time.
Zverev is a two-time ATP Finals champion, triumphing in 2018 and 2021, and was asked by Sky Sports Germany about the injury in the aftermath of his defeat to Sinner.
The German conceded that there was little he could do to threaten the Italian during their semi-final, and revealed he would delay his arrival to Turin to boost his chances of a full recovery.
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“I’ll probably fly to Munich to see my doctor who did the surgery on my ankle,” said Zverev.
“I’ll look into it with him and see what it is and if we can do anything about it. Maybe we can do an injection, and then I’ll come to Turin at some point.
“Unfortunately, it swelled up a lot yesterday after the match. But to be honest, I mean, against Jannik, if you’re not 100 per cent and if you’re not playing at your absolute best, then you simply don’t stand a chance, and he showed that today.
“Of course, I couldn’t move 100 per cent. I couldn’t really push off on my serve either, which is obviously very, very important for me against him. But overall, if you’re not at 100 per cent, you don’t stand a chance against him.”
Zverev is currently set to be the third seed at the ATP Finals this year, with the German only behind Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner in the Race to Turin.
The German was the champion at the ATP 500 Munich Open in April and has amassed further runner-up finishes at the Australian Open, Stuttgart Open, and Vienna Open this year despite admitting to struggles with both his mental and physical health.
