It was at the beginning of June that 25-year-old Zverev stepped horribly wrong in the semifinals of the French Open against Rafael Nadal and had to leave the court in a wheelchair with tears streaming down his face.

It turned out that three ligaments in the ankle were torn, which required surgery.

He suffered a setback with edema (water build-up) in his leg in September and was not back on the track until December, then in constant pain.

Took a vacation instead of rehab

- Now I don't think about it all the time.

A couple of weeks ago I got reminders from my foot.

It's going in the right direction and it feels like I can play with more freedom now, says Zverev from the tournament in Doha where he meets Andy Murray on Wednesday.

That he had a setback with the edema, he now looks back on with gratitude.

- It helped the foot to rest when I took a vacation instead of rehab.

I tried maybe too much when I wanted to come back, said Zverev, who is now 16th in the rankings.

He has been second best.

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Zverev injured in the French Open - Rafael Nadal to the final Photo: Instagram/Eurosport