Alexander Zverev’s progression to the semifinals of the US Open means that he will face Novak Djokovic which also turns out to be the Tokyo Olympics semi finals rematch. It is a golden opportunity for the Serb to seek redemption whereas Zverev will look to beat him again and progress to the finals.
Zverev has carried a good momentum from Tokyo since winning the Olympics gold medal. Therefore his current form may make life a lot more difficult for the current World No. 1.
After his win against Llyod Harris, Zverev told the reporters that he has to bring his best game to even stand a chance against the 34-year-old. Attacking Djokovic right from the start is the ploy that the German youngster will adopt.
“Yeah, against him (Novak Djokovic) you prepare that you have to play the best match that you can. You have to be perfect, otherwise you will not win,” Zverev said. “Most of the time you can’t be perfect. That’s why most of the time people lose to him. Against him, you have to win the match yourself. You have to be the one that is dominating the points. You have to do it with very little unforced errors.”
“He is the best player in the world. He is very difficult to beat,” the German added.
Zverev has had bittersweet memories of the Flushing Meadows as he reached the finals last year where he lost the title to Dominic Thiem. This year again he has reached the semifinals and will play against Djokovic. When quizzed about the differences in two years of the US Open, the German star added, “Well, I mean, we have 20 plus thousand people in the stadium. That’s how it’s different. The atmosphere is different,” he said. “Last year I think the match we played with Dominic, the crowd would have gone insane. But there was no crowd. That’s the difference. That’s what I’m talking about. It’s so much more fun, so much more entertaining I think for everybody to be there when there are big numbers of spectators there.”
It was Zverev who ended Djokovic’s bid for the Calendar Golden Slam as the Serb lost the Olympics semifinals in Tokyo. Now Djokovic is running for the Calendar Grand Slam and Zverev once again has a chance to spoil the party.
