Alexander Zverev: the tale of Jarry’s next stumbling block that made doctors bend the hand of doctors who were ending his sports career

One hour and 16 minutes. it was enough for Alexander Zverev surpass the Canadian Denis Shapovalov (27th in the ATP ranking) and qualify for the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 in Halle (Germany) .

With partials of 6-2 and 6-4, the world number 22 has confirmed his local status and arrives in great shape for the duo with the Chilean Nicolás Jarry (28th). Duel which will take place this Friday, at a time to be confirmed, and which will serve to break the record of clashes that exists between the two players.

Statistics that tied them to two and whose last chapter was written in the ATP of Geneva, where the one born in Santiago beat him 7-6 (3) and 6-3. Victory which was a real revenge for the capital, because the European had taken him out of the same competition a year before . “I don’t remember that game, but I think yes or yes, consistency was key in this game and I’m much more consistent than in years past. I think it was a point in my favour,” Jarry said after his win.

But the Prince knows Zverev doesn’t care about numbers let alone predictions. The man who won 19 titles on the ATP Tour and won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics (2021) he is used to fighting adversity.

In fact, his struggle to be an elite athlete is recognized by his rivals. When he was still a child, doctors diagnosed him with type 1 diabetes. “My parents were very scared. They were very worried and my mother cried a lot,” the German told Australian TV channel Channel Nine.

There he also revealed that doctors had recommended him to quit and that many had told him that “there is no way to be a professional athlete with this condition. Impossible to practice such a physically hard sport… And it stuck in my head, it made me pretty angry, to be honest. But I don’t think you should put limits on the kids, because I think it’s not fair for them.”

For the same reason, once installed on the courts, he created a foundation that encourages the little ones so that they do not let themselves be overcome by any disease and normalize diabetes. “That was the purpose of my foundation: send a message that you can have a normal life, because there are many olympic gold medalists with diabetes and great footballers too “, he underlines.

Sacha’s life changed forever in 2022. During this period, the tennis player experienced two of the darkest moments of his career: first he was accused of domestic violence and then suffered a serious injury at Roland Garros.

The lawsuit was filed by his ex-girlfriend Olya Sharypova and the events allegedly happened during the Shanghai Masters 1000 in 2019 and other venues like Monte Carlo, New York and Geneva. For the same, the ATP retained the services of an external investigative firm who conducted in-depth interviews with the tennis players in question, their families, friends and parties involved in the circuit . They also analyzed text messages, audio files, photos and various electronic devices to reach their verdict: innocent.

“Based on the lack of credible evidence or testimony, as well as conflicting statements by (alleged victim Olya) Sharypova, Zverev and other interviewees, investigators have been unable to corroborate that the allegations of violent acts are founded “, reported the ATP last January.

The same month the tennis player returned to the courts, after the serious injury he suffered at Roland Garros and which paralyzed the world of sport. Zverev was facing Rafael Nadal and in the second set he suffered a shocking sprained ankle which sidelined him for six months.

“After further examination in Germany, we received confirmation that the three lateral ligaments of my right ankle were torn. To get back to competition as soon as possible, to make sure all the ligaments are healing properly and to regain full stability in my ankle, surgery was the best option,” he reported a few days later.

But his heartbreaking cries had already remained in the memory of tennis fans, and his image, withdrawing from the court on crutches, had gone around the world. Illness, however, did not defeat him. And his return to Paris was more than successful, because if he didn’t win, he reached the semi-finals and erased the worst experience of his professional life forever.