Alexander Zverev, who was born on April 20, 1997, is a German professional tennis player who crashes in his first ATP match after suffering an ankle injury in June. 2, and it remained in the top 10 all the way through November 2022.
Corroded previous world number two Alexander Zverev collided with rout Saturday in his most memorable ATP match since tearing lower leg tendons at the French Open in June.
The two-time ATP Finals champion was defeated by 81st-ranked Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2 at Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Arena with eight double faults, giving the Czech Republic a 1-0 lead over Germany in their match.
Zverev left the court in a wheelchair after tearing three ligaments in his right ankle during his match against Rafael Nadal in the Roland Garros semi-final.
Zverev withdrew from the Davis Cup in September because he was in “extreme pain,” which prevented him from returning.
It was clear that the Olympic champion was still having trouble with Lehecka. Prior to his injury, he had ranked two, a career-high, and now he is 12th in the world.
He fought off break focuses at 2-3 in the primary set yet a twofold shortcoming at 4-5 gave the Czech set point and he got the open door, changing over with a hurl.
The German worked two break focuses in the main round of the subsequent set, however, blew the opportunity for certain unpredictable shots.
He was broken to go 3-1 behind because his service didn’t work, and even though he broke right back, he couldn’t keep up the pressure and committed another double fault, which helped Lehecka go 2-4 ahead and there was no way back.
After one of his greatest victories, Lehecka, 21, stated, “I knew before the match that he didn’t play for a while, but with a player like this, it can of course mean nothing.”
I was able to show up when it mattered most. I’m ready to play against a player like him because of last year’s experience of losing to good players.”
The Czechs were defeated 4-1 by the United States in their initial match in the new 18-country mixed teams tournament that was held in Brisbane, Perth, and Sydney. Germany had just arrived for the first time.
Iga Swiatek, the world number one female tennis player, and Nadal, the 22-time Grand Slam champion from Spain, play later.
Nadal, the world’s second-ranked player, will face Cameron Norrie, a 14th-ranked Brit, in Sydney on Saturday’s second session. Norrie has not won any of their previous four matches.
At Brisbane’s Pat Rafter Arena, Swiatek, who has topped the rankings for the past 39 weeks, takes on Yulia Putintseva, who is from Kazakhstan. Swiatek won their previous match in straight sets.