Alexander Zverev can't catch a break following another Melbourne upset
The most prominent young star in the world of men's tennis Alexander Zverev has enjoyed another great season in 2018, conquering four ATP titles including his third Masters 1000 crown in Madrid, dominating from start to finish to lift his third trophy at that level as the fifth youngest player behind Rafael Nadal, Michael Chang, Andrei Medvedev and Novak Djokovic. Sascha had some rough periods but he found his form again in the closing stages of the year and he certainly saved the best for last, winning the ATP Finals in London as the youngest player since Novak Djokovic in 2008!
After a well-deserved rest, Zverev hit the court in Perth, entering his fourth straight Hopman Cup where he and Angelique Kerber suffered another tough loss against Switzerland, wasting the championship point at 4-4 in the deciding tie break of the mixed doubles encounter! Following those three singles wins he grabbed in Perth, Sascha headed to Adelaide where he was supposed to play the World Tennis Challenge against Borna Coric on Monday. Nonetheless, he could have only walked into the stadium at the Memorial Drive Tennis Centre and inform the crowd he will not be able to play, suffering a hamstring injury during practice and traveling to Melbourne where he hit the practice court in order to test his leg and check his abilities just a few days before the start of the Australian Open.
Zverev seemed to be o.k when he appeared on the Margaret Court Arena on Thursday morning, scheduling the practice session with his good friend Dominic Thiem. The Austrian pulled out and Zverev kicked off the day with a 6-2 win over Jason Kubler before competing in another test with Marc Polmans. The German was unable to finish the session, though, suffering a left foot injury while leading 4-1 that forced him to cancel the day and raise more concerns just a few days before the start of the opening Major of the year.
Zverev was spotted later that day (in the meanwhile, he found out he will open the campaign against Aljaz Bedene) and he seemed to be walking fine, giving his fans some encouraging signs that he will be able to compete at the event where he never reached the second week before, losing in the third round in both 2017 and 2018 to Rafael Nadal and Hyeon Chung.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2QEkTyZ
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