Alexander Zverev Shares the Status of his Back Injury Heading into the Shanghai Rolex Masters

Alexander Zverev will open his Rolex Shanghai Masters campaign against Valentin Royer in the second round.

Alexander Zverev Shares the Status of his Back Injury Heading into the Shanghai Rolex Masters

Alexander Zverev (image via X/Tennis World USA)

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Alexander Zverev has opened up on how he has been managing his back problem for the past few weeks on tour. He’s set to compete at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, which commenced on Wednesday (October 1st). The tournament will feature some of the world’s top players, competing to win the title.

However, the tournament will not see the reigning World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz, as he’s decided to withdraw from the tournament due to an injury scare he suffered at the Tokyo Open. The 22-year-old jarred his ankle during his opening match against Sebastian Baez. In his absence, Jannik Sinner is the top seed and also the defending champion in Shanghai.

But the second seed is Zverev. The World No.3 has had a very difficult season by his standards. This year, he has featured in just 62 matches of which he managed to win just 45 of them. In fact, he has not been to any big tournament final since losing to Sinner at the Australian Open in January.

His only title this season came at the Munich Open in April, where he defeated Ben Shelton in straight sets. He has been struggling with a back problem since the Cincinnati Open and it was first noticeable during his defeat to Alcaraz in the semi-finals. But he has managed to compete with the back discomfort.

Ahead of the Shanghai Masters, he was asked about it during an interview with ATP. The 28-year-old revealed that the back problem has not allowed him to train as much as he wants to before a tournament. He added that it has been tough to manage the pain, which on many occasions annoys him:

It’s been tough, starting with training. Unfortunately, I’m not able to train much because this problem is requiring more rest than usual. It’s difficult to manage, but it’s a pain that ends up being very annoying if you don’t take care of it properly, so this is how it is. The seasons on tour are very long, something we’ve known from the beginning, so each player carries their own problems and discomfort.

Zverev’s most recent appearance before arriving at the Shanghai Masters was in Beijing for the China Open. He reached the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 tournament before losing to Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 3-6. After the loss, he revealed that he experienced fatigue during the match and was not able to give his best.

Alexander Zverev reveals his first memory of playing at the Rolex Shanghai Masters

Alexander Zverev’s best run at the Rolex Shanghai Masters came in 2019, when he reached the final of the tournament. The German star fell to Daniil Medvedev in the championship match just a year after reaching the semi-finals. But during his run to the final, he stunned tennis legend Roger Federer in three sets in the quarter-finals.

Alexander Zverev
Alexander Zverev (via X/The Tennis Letter)

During the aforementioned interview, he revealed that the win is the first memory he has of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament. He added that he looks forward to working hard to create more good memories at this year’s edition of the event:

The first memory that comes to mind is the match against Roger Federer in the quarterfinals of 2019, that day was very special in the way I played, surely many people still remember it. Here in Shanghai, I have reached a final and another semifinal, enough information to be aware that it’s a place where I can play well, so I’ll work hard to make things go well for me this week.

Zverev will open his singles account at the Rolex Shanghai Masters against Valentin Royer in the second round after earning a first-round bye. He will also feature in the doubles category alongside Marcelo Melo. However, he has to win matches at the tournament, which will help him seal his place at the ATP Finals in Turin.

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