Zverev Sounds Signal Of Intent Ahead Of US Open

  • Posted: Aug 23, 2021

A fifth ATP Masters 1000 trophy, an Olympic gold medal and an 11-match winning streak to boot have Alexander Zverev arguably in the hard-court form of his life. The German’s comprehensive triumph over Andrey Rublev in the Western & Southern Open final on Sunday came as a further boost as he shifted his focus to next week’s US Open.

It was the World No. 5’s fourth title of the season and took his ATP Head2Head to 5-0 against his former junior doubles partner. Victory means he has not lost a match since his fourth-round exit at Wimbledon seven weeks ago (l. to Auger-Aliassime) and ensures he will arrive in Flushing Meadows as one of the favourites to go one better than he did a year ago in a five-set defeat to Dominic Thiem in the final.

“The US Open is a week that everybody is looking forward to. I think Novak [Djokovic] will be back. He’s obviously going to be the favourite, as well. But I think other guys are going to be in great shape,” Zverev said following his 6-2, 6-3 victory.

“I’m looking forward to the week. Let’s see how it goes. But there is still one week to go. I still have a lot of work ahead of me. I have to find my rhythm in New York, as well.”

Zverev ended World No. 1 Djokovic’s bid for the Golden Grand Slam this season on his way to Olympic gold in Tokyo last month. The Serbian has not played an event since Tokyo, but Zverev holds no doubt he will still be the man to beat at the US Open.

“I do think that he’s still the favourite. I do think he’s going to be playing incredible tennis there,” Zverev said. “He’s going to be fresh, and I think there is also other guys that are in very good form. I think Rublev is in very good form, Medvedev, Tsitsipas, all those guys are playing great tennis.

“It’s definitely going to be an interesting US Open. But I’m also looking forward to it, because I know where I stand, I know how I’m playing, and I hope I can continue the work and hopefully play even better in New York.”

While Djokovic remained at No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Race to Turin, the next four behind him filled the semi-final berths in Cincinnati. Tsitsipas and Medvedev held down second and third places, respectively, while Zverev jumped ahead of Rublev following his win on Sunday. Given all are 23 to 25 years old, could it be a glimpse into a burgeoning new Big Four?

“I mean, we have to see. The other guys are still there, right? I mean, Novak is still World No. 1. Let’s not forget that. Rafa is still top 10, as well. They are still there. I think… they’re going to come back even stronger,” Zverev said.

“But we’ll see. I think tennis is in a good spot, I would say, because the other guys are still there. Novak is still at the top of his game, but the young guys all look quite strong. It’s going to be interesting to see who will do what in the next few years.”

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