SYDNEY, Dec 31 — Alexander Zverev on Saturday marked his return to aggressive motion for the primary time since June following ankle surgical procedure however mentioned after his 6-4 6-2 loss to the Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka within the United Cup that he was a way from peak match health.
Zverev, 25, had surgical procedure to restore broken ankle ligaments following an harm he sustained throughout his French Open semi-final in opposition to Rafa Nadal.
The German’s return was additional delayed in September after he suffered from a bone edema, which compelled him to withdraw from the Davis Cup Finals group stage. He then performed on this month’s Diriyah Tennis Cup exhibition occasion in Saudi Arabia.
Zverev, who rose to world quantity two in June and has since dropped to 12, mentioned the harm was not a priority anymore however he’ll want extra time to get his physique up to the mark after his tame defeat within the mixed-team event in Sydney.
“Bodily, I’m not on the degree I’ve to be. This isn’t even a query. I’m getting drained lots faster than I at all times did,” Zverev advised reporters.
“I’m not as quick as I most likely was. To be trustworthy, I’m solely pain-free for about two, three weeks now, since all Saudi Arabia mainly. Earlier than that, I had ache and I wasn’t in a position to do all of the completely different sort of issues I need to do.
“I don’t suppose it’ll be a matter of tomorrow, after tomorrow. It’ll be a number of weeks till I’m again to the extent I need to be.”
Zverev’s early promise is but to yield a Grand Slam singles title and the 2020 U.S. Open runner-up mentioned he didn’t have excessive expectations forward of the Australian Open beginning Jan. 16.
“It’s powerful to set expectations excessive proper now. It might be unrealistic and likewise fairly silly for me to set the expectations in direction of profitable or one thing like that,” Zverev, who reached the semi-finals at Melbourne Park two years in the past, mentioned.
“In fact, I need to win. Everyone desires to win. For me, it’s about getting again the shape that I’m used to.” — Reuters
