Montpellier – Alexander Zverev has also explained his early exit from the Australian Open with extremely high expectations.
“I had a lot of pressure in Australia. Everyone kept saying that I could be the world number one and I was disappointed with my performance,” said the Olympic tennis champion ahead of the start of the ATP tournament in Montpellier. In France, the 24-year-old Olympic champion will compete in singles and, together with Brazilian Marcelo Melo, also in doubles.
“I know I played a bad Australian Open,” said Zverev, explaining his start in Montpellier also as a way to stay in tournament rhythm. He will face Ilya Ivashka from Belarus or American Mackenzie McDonald in the first round. The world number three had accepted a wild card at short notice, is seeded number one and initially has a walk-through.
He watched the end of the Australian Open final, which Spain’s Rafael Nadal won in five sets against Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, “even though I would have loved to be there myself,” Zverev told a press conference before the tournament began. “Rafa was unbelievable, extraordinary,” Zverev said, also congratulating Medvedev on an outstanding performance.
