DLost three sets clearly, the last one even to zero, and that in front of everyone in the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament: What a failure, made to quarrel with yourself and the tennis world and spread a bad mood. Especially when it comes to Alexander Zverev, who naturally knows better than to hide his frustration and scolds like a reed sparrow when his performance cannot keep up with his ambition. Like weeks ago at the Masters tournament in Rome, where he grumbled after losing to Russian Daniil Medvedev that he was “still 1000 kilometers away” from the top of the world and “didn’t feel like saying anything”.
But suddenly the man from Hamburg just sat down on Friday evening in Paris and said: “I missed an opportunity, but that’s life.” What happened in Zverev? mental coaching? calming tea? Zen Buddhism?