Alexander Zverev is lacing up for his fifth Laver Cup appearance, opening his campaign with Carlos Alcaraz in the doubles.
The world number two has undergone yet another year of self-inflicted Grand Slam heartbreak.
A French Open final that went begging was followed up by an inability to capitalise on a uniquely open US Open field – A tale as old as time for poor Alexander Zverev.
Now on home soil as Berlin hosts its first Laver Cup, Zverev is tasked with leading Team Europe to victory, with two consecutive defeats coming in Vancouver and London hoping to be left behind.
The highest ranked player taking part in the event, Zverev is currently on six singles wins, sitting level with Roger Federer.
Alexander Zverev heaps praise on ‘legend’ Carlos Alcaraz ahead of they doubles match
With Zverev and Laver Cup debutant Carlos Alcaraz set to pair up in this year’s opening doubles tie, the German was full of kind words for the 20-year-old.
With the Spaniard having picked up his third and fourth Grand Slam title this year, Zverev dubbed the youngster a legend of the sport already.
“For me, it’s a privilege, and don’t listen because you’re 12 years old and I shouldn’t say so many nice things,” the German joked. “But it’s a privilege to share the court with a legend of our sport already, and he’s only going to grow from now on.”
Taking on American duo Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton in the last match on opening day, Zverev recalled his time playing doubles alongside Federer at previous events.
“I had the privilege of playing doubles with Roger a few times, which was very very special here, so now sharing the court with Carlos is also extremely special to me,” he reflected.
“We had some tough battles at grand slam this year together in Australia and at the French Open, so being on the same side is incredible.”
Carlos Alcaraz needs to pick up his hard court form after a poor US Open performance
Previous US Open champions all fared poorly this year, with Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka both brand new names etched into the history books at Flushing Meadows.
Alcaraz however has struggled since defeat in the Olympic final. Whether simply exhaustion after his French Open and Wimbledon titles, or some kind of mental block after agony in Paris, the 20-year-old Spaniard has looked out-of-sorts.
Defeat to Gael Monfils in Cincinnati prompted an almighty racket smash that Alcaraz apologized for. Just a single win since the Olympics came in his US Open first-round tie against Australian qualifier Li Tu which he won in four sets. Shock defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp later stunned the tennis world.
Alcaraz has since revealed his one Laver Cup goal and picked Grigor Dimitrov as his dream doubles partner.
While John McEnroe jokingly urged Alcaraz to play terribly, the 20-year-old does genuinely still have a point to prove this week.
His Davis Cup exploits last week look somewhat more assured, but the Spaniard will need to raise his level once again if he’s going to contribute to Team Europe.
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