American tennis legend John McEnroe sees Alexander Zverev in one of the most difficult phases of his professional career. The consequences of the injury sustained by the Hamburg native last year in the semi-final match of the French Open against Rafael Nadal threw him off track, McEnroe told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (F.A.S.): "He lost everything: self-confidence, world ranking points, his ranking position. This makes his dire situation even worse. It has reached its lowest point in the past eight years."
Thomas Klemm
Sports editor.
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Zverev is currently only 27th in the world rankings and thus as low as last in September 2016. For the first time in almost seven years, he is no longer the best German tennis player. Next Monday, however, the 2021 Olympic champion will move up at least one place and replace Jan-Lennard Struff (currently 26th) from Warsteiner as Germany's top performer.
For McEnroe, who will again accompany the clay court tournament in Paris, which begins on Sunday, as an expert on the broadcasting TV channel Eurosport, the 26-year-old Zverev visibly lacks confidence and former self-image. "Last year he seemed to be on the verge of defeating Nadal in Roland Garros," said the seven-time Grand Slam tournament winner in retrospect. After Zverev's comeback at the beginning of the year, it often looked as if he was heading in the right direction again after the bitter setback. "But he didn't manage to take the next step and win big games," McEnroe said.
Zverev meets South African Lloyd Harris, currently number 306 in the world rankings, at the start of the second Grand Slam tournament of the year. In the third round, the first seeded opponent could be waiting in the American Frances Tiafoe, in the round of <> Zverev would probably have to deal with the strong South Tyrolean Jannik Sinner, whose form is currently much better than that of the German.
For McEnroe, Zverev continues to impress with his fitness. "He's hard to beat in best-of-five matches," the 64-year-old New Yorker told the F.A.S. Basically, he thinks highly of the German and trusts him to return to his old strength. "I think Zverev is still capable of winning a Grand Slam tournament," said McEnroe.