Alexander Zverev Blames Australian Open Loss On Sickness

Saturday, 27 January 2024 at 14:30

byZachary Wimer

Alexander Zverev was inches away from beating Daniil Medvedev in the 2024 Australian Open semi-final, but he didn't as he lost in five sets.

Even though he cruised early, the German didn't have the best time against Medvedev overall. Zverev played a lot of tennis leading up to the match and dipped in level after going up 2-0 in sets.

Medvedev was able to erase that lead and ultimately win the match in five sets to advance to the Australian Open final. It was not the desired ending for Zverev, who blamed the loss on a lack of energy as the match continued.

After the match, he said he was sick, though part of that probably has to do with him also playing too much tennis in the earlier rounds. It's been a problem for him as he struggles often in early rounds.

"End of the second set I started to lose energy. I started to not feel, you know, so fresh anymore. I mean, I am a bit sick. I got a bit sick after the Alcaraz match with a bit of fever and stuff like that, so that obviously didn't help the recovery, and I did play quite a lot."

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Zverev was playing a really strong event otherwise and could have made the final, which is the most frustrating part for him. Being so close to your goal but not feeling 100% was devastating for Zverev, but such is life. He knows well what heartbreak feels like.

"But for me it's more frustrating that I didn't feel 100% physically. That was more frustrating to me. I lost it because of a physical state, not because of tennis. That is, for me, disappointing. That's probably the first time or one of the first times in my career that that has happened."