“Physically I’m not at the level that I have to be” - says Alexander Zverev

| by Zlatko Vodenicharov

Alexander Zverev admitted he is not physically where he needs to be after suffering a shocking loss to Jiri Lehecka.

The fact that he didn't play well made the loss less shocking, but Zverev's supporters had expected him to play much better than he has thus far. That wasn't the case today, as he explained to the reporters what transpired throughout the game.

“I think feeling-wise I felt OK,” said Zverev. “But I think my tennis is far away from the level I want it to be. I think it’s also normal not playing for seven months. There are things that are different than I’m used to. I think I was getting tired a lot quicker than I’m used to. But that comes obviously with not playing."

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Despite the struggles, Zverev is not worried about it. He knew it was coming and he prepared mentally to deal with that:

“(Am I ) concerned? Probably not. Physically I’m not at the level that I have to be. This is not even a question. I’m getting tired I think a lot quicker than I always did. I’m not as fast as I probably was.”

The slow ramp-up for Zverev is a direct consequence of how his recovery went. He revealed that he's only pain-free for a brief time:

“To be honest, I’m only pain-free for about two, three weeks now, since Saudi Arabia basically. Before that I had pain and I wasn’t able to do all the different kind of things I want to do."

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