- Zverev's dream of Olympic gold ends in heat
Alexander Zverev's dream of a second Olympic gold in the Paris heat has burst. Exactly three years after his coup in Tokyo, the best German tennis player failed in the quarterfinals with a 5:7, 5:7 defeat to Italian Lorenzo Musetti in high summer temperatures. After 2 hours and 4 minutes, the Italian Wimbledon semifinalist converted his first match point, shattering Zverev's hopes of a second Olympic triumph.
The world No. 4 seemed physically drained by the heat. He had previously stated, "Paris, I want to win, that's not a question." However, the French Open finalist didn't reach the top form and consistency that had characterized him recently, even at Wimbledon until his knee injury.
The German Tennis Federation missed its minimum goal of winning a medal with the elimination of the last remaining participant. Zverev had already squandered his second medal chance in the mixed doubles with Laura Siegemund in the first round.
In Tokyo, Zverev made history in German tennis
Carried by the feeling of representing the entire nation, Zverev stormed through the Olympic tournament three years ago. He even overcame Serbian top star Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. On August 1, 2021, he became the first German tennis player to win gold in the men's singles.
The organizers had scheduled his quarterfinal against Musetti late in the afternoon, despite Zverev finishing his round of 16 match later than the Italian the previous day. As in previous rounds, Zverev didn't find his rhythm and lost his first service game, going down 0:1. He struggled with the serve of the world No. 16 from Tuscany.
" He's a great player, and he's in absolute top form right now. I expect a very difficult match," Zverev had predicted. The 22-year-old Musetti had just reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon.
Zverev's break lead lasted until 4:5, but he leveled after Musetti's rare mistake. However, three avoidable errors led to the next service break. After 61 minutes, the first set was gone, thanks to a stop ball from the Italian that surprised Zverev, who was positioned far behind the baseline.
In the second set, with temperatures still high, Zverev changed his black national outfit to a white t-shirt for the first time in the tournament. Despite this, the heat seemed to affect him. During the changeover, he placed cooling towels on his shoulders and ice packs on his head or under his shirt.
"Keep going, kid," a spectator shouted midway through the second set, making Zverev smile. Later, he let spectators in the front row fan him a little. The organizers closed the roof at 4:3 to provide shade. At 5:5, Zverev had a weak service game, allowing Musetti the decisive break.
Despite having high expectations, Alexander Zverev acknowledged that there were other contenders in the tournament who were also in form, such as Lorenzo Musetti. In the mixed doubles event, Zverev and partner Laura Siegemund unfortunately encountered setbacks, missing out on another potential medal opportunity.
