Alexander Zverev might have been winning one match after another recently, but he's been struggling with a specific health issue.
In October this year, Zverev revealed that he had lung inflammation but also said that he would continue playing. It was a surprising decision, but that decision proved to be fruitful.
Only a few days ago, the 27-year-old German player won the last ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the season, the Paris Masters, entering the 2024 ATP Finals in great form.
That form translated into his opening win in the round-robin stage, beating his good friend Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-4, to earn his first point at the year-end championship in Turin.
Although he's been crushing one opponent after another in recent weeks, Zverev hasn't battled only his opponents, but also his health, as his lungs are still far from perfect.
Speaking after his win over Rublev, the World No. 2 player admitted that before the Laver Cup, which is an exhibition that took place in his home country this year, he had to be taken to hospital due to a high fever.
"I ended up in hospital before the Laver Cup when I had a fever of 40 degrees Celsius for three days in a row, and at some point, I felt like I couldn't breathe."
Unfortunately for Zverev, the issue didn't go away and likely won't go away that quickly. Still, he chose to continue playing, but that doesn't mean that he's not impacted by it on the tennis court.
Although it might not look like it, since he's been winning all of his matches, Zverev actually feels like he's been getting tired more quickly, and also knows that his lungs are far from 100%.
"I'm getting tired a bit more quicker. But I'm feeling okay. This doesn't mean that my longs are 100%, but right now, I feel fit again."
When speaking at his press conference after the match, the two-time Grand Slam finalist was also asked about his recent habit of hitting the practice court immediately after some of his matches.
He did that at the Paris Masters, even practicing right after winning the trophy. Now, he did the same thing after his win over Andrey Rublev, and he explained that, in this case, he just wanted to get used to the conditions on the center court a bit more.
"It's not a routine. We don't really get much center court time here, so I wanted to hit a few balls still. I think today was a very good match, but it was a very fast-hitting match."
"I think there were some long rallies, but I still think it was very fast-paced tennis. So I just wanted to get some rhythm, yeah. But overall, I'm happy with the win."
After beating Rublev in his first match, Zverev is now in a comfortable position to advance. He's the highest-ranked player in his group, so a favorite to advance, and he will now need to beat either Casper Ruud or Carlos Alcaraz to likely seal his semi-final spot.