“That’s the kind of relationship you need” Alexander Zverev talks of his special bond with Novak Djokovic
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Novak Djokovic vs Alexander Zverev
World No. 3 Alexander Zverev had the best individual season last year in terms of the number of trophies won on both the ATP and WTA Tour. The German finished with 5 Tour titles and a Gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics held last year to finish with 6 trophies to his name as he wrapped up the year successfully with his second title at the Year-End Championships.
The biggest win for Zverev was obviously the Gold medal in the Olympics which he won defeating Karen Khachanov in the finals. He had earlier defeated the then World No. 1 Novak Djokovic who was coming into the Olympics having won all 3 Grand Slams of the season and was 37-3 for the season going into the semi-finals clash with Zverev.
Despite losing the first set 1-6, Zverev came back strong to win the semi-finals clash in the next two sets to move into the finals and confirm a medal for Germany while Djokovic then moved for the Bronze medal match which he was unfortunate to lose to as he returned empty-handed from the Tokyo having gone in the hopes of winning the Gold and complete the Career Golden Slam and also keep his chance of matching Steffi Graf‘s feat of winning all 4 majors and Olympic Gold in 1 season.
“It was emotional for both of us. I knew that I had secured a medal for Germany, which was a dream come true. And at the time, I was down. I was playing Novak, who had barely lost a match that year and who, up until that moment, had won all three Grand Slams. When I won, everything kind of came out of me. I started crying; I was very emotional.
But for him, the only thing he hasn’t won in his career is the Olympics. He basically has every single record there is to have and has won every single thing except an Olympic gold medal. So at that moment [when I could have been screaming and ecstatic because it’s “the most important trophy that any sportsperson can have”] I tried to comfort him, to be honest,” said Zverev during his interview with Haute Living.
“Me and Novak Djokovic are two of the top three players”: Alexander Zverev
Zverev and Novak met after the Olympics in the semi-finals of the 2021 US Open which was an epic 5-set clash that went back and forth for both players before Novak successfully managed to win it and reach the finals where he then lost to Daniil Medvedev and failed to achieve the Calendar Slam.
Novak was on the other side of the net once again for Zverev in the semi-finals of the 2021 ATP Finals where Zverev managed to win it on his way to lifting the title. As the two are making a habit to clash at the business end of the tournaments, Zverev emphasised that the rivalry does not harm the friendship of the two players.
“Me and Novak, obviously we are two of the top three players in the world. We know that we can go out on the court and try to beat each other for four or five hours as we did in New York and Australia [in 2021]. After the match, we’ll hug each other and everything will be fine because that’s the kind of relationship that you need. If you can’t separate the two, it’s very difficult to have a relationship on the tour,” added Zverev.
With the duo yet to clash on the Tour this season given Novak’s absence, it seems the pair will be up against each other during the Golden Swing when Novak is set to get frequent appearances.
Also Read: ‘Change in Rules?’ Novak Djokovic STILL on the Indian Wells entry list
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)