The German men’s tennis team will probably have to plan for the final tournament of the Davis Cup at the end of November without top star Alexander Zverev.
“At the moment we don’t know exactly how long Sascha will be out,” captain Michael Kohlmann told dpa. “We have to wait and see there. It’s important for him to find his way. Not to start too early, to concentrate on himself and to get himself in the physical condition to bring top performances. If that would fit with the Davis Cup, we would be very happy.”
The chances of that happening, however, are slim. Zverev had to cancel his participation in the home tournament in Hamburg earlier this week due to bone oedema in his left foot. Referring to the downtime, the 25-year-old spoke of “several weeks, most likely months”. The Davis Cup Final 8 will take place in Malaga from 22 to 27 November. “Right now it is important that Sascha looks after himself and uses the time to be back soon,” Kohlmann stressed. In Spain, the 48-year-old is likely to rely on Jan-Lennard Struff and Oscar Otte in the singles, as he did in Hamburg.