Alexander Zverev, who recently lost a dramatic five-setter to Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open semifinals, has pulled out of next week’s Rotterdam draw due to an ankle injury.
Zverev didn’t make mention of the ankle injury after his loss to Alcaraz, but he did express hope that he was going to have a good season.
“I think I’m way too tired to have emotions right now, so like in two days’ time, I’ll probably have more, but right now I’m just exhausted,” he said. “I think we both went to our absolute limits, so somewhat I’m also proud of myself the way I was hanging on and came back from two sets to love.
“Of course it’s disappointing, but this is the start of the year, so if I continue playing that way, if I continue training the way I train, if I continue working on the things that I’ve been working in the offseason, I do believe it’s going to be a good year for me.”
After his loss to Alcaraz, Zverev said he was simply exhausted in the final set of the five hour and 27-minute battle.
“I had absolutely nothing left in me,” he said. “Even at 5-4, you know normally I can rely on my serve a bit more. My legs stopped pushing upward, so yeah, that’s the way it is. This is life. We move on.”