Lightning strike and emergency: Zverev's turbulent trip to Paris

Lightning strike and emergency: Zverev's turbulent trip to Paris

Alexander Zverev reported in a current interview about a spectacular incident on his way to the French Open. The 28-year-old tennis player was on a flight from Hamburg to Paris when a lightning strike led to an emergency landing. Zverev described the moment as "pretty funny" because there was only a small sound without the aircraft having shaken ( ran.de ). ).

Despite these unexpected turbulence and a recent phase of illness, Zverev is optimistic about the upcoming tournament. He emphasizes that Roland Garros is an important challenge for him because it is a Grand Slam tournament and that is played in the best-of-five format. Before the event, however, Zverev admitted that his preparation was suboptimal.

setbacks and opportunities

At his home tournament in Hamburg, Zverev experienced an unfortunate defeat in the round of 16 and was previously affected by health problems. These included frequent vomiting and high fever, which hindered him throughout the week. Boris Becker criticized his decision to compete in Hamburg despite these challenges, while Zverev himself admitted that a break might have made sense ( ndr.de ).

With a view of his first round at Roland Garros, Zverev meets the 19-year-old American Learner Tien. In a previous duel in Acapulco, however, Zverev lost in two sets against Tien. Despite this defeat, Zverev is confident because he considers the first games to be decisive to find his shape.

The way to the final

The way to the title in Paris does not just look for Zverev. In the second round he could meet Jesper de Jong or Francesco Passaro, while possible opponents in the third round Felix Auger-Aliassime and in the round of 16 could be called Francisco Cerundolo. A possible quarter-final duel would be against the Serbs Novak Djokovic, and should Zverev advance to the final, the Spanish player Carlos Alcaraz could wait for him, who defeated him in an exciting finale last year.