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Alexander Zverev admits some days feel better than others and is on a journey to get back to his best.
Zverev will miss the second half of the 2022 season after suffering a hamstring tear at the French Open.
He said he is now at 100 percent physically, but some days he struggles to get his best.
There is enough incentive for Zverev to believe that the day will come when he returns to his best.
«It made me realize that if I get back to 100, I can be there,» Zverev said as a tennis player.
«It’s all about getting back and I know the player I was and I know I can get back there.»
Zverev has recently been encouraged by his efforts to run past top players and go deep into tournaments.
«Some weeks I feel really close,» he said. «I have some weeks. I feel like I can win the tournament again. Some weeks, like Indian Wells. If I get past that Medvedev match (16 losses in three sets), I feel like I can finish in the final and play the final against Alcaraz. Monte-Carlo, same thing (also Round of 16 loss to Medvedev) and then there are weeks like Miami where I’m a little bit hurt. There are weeks like Munich where I don’t play my best tennis again, and you feel so far away.
“For me now it’s about winning those matches. You can win those really tight matches against great opponents and then say you’re back, but you definitely need to win one or two of those.
He admits that the injury gave him a new perspective on life and tennis.
«For the first injury. You broke seven ligaments, you know.»
“You need surgery, you need time to heal, but things come up and you know, I thought I was going to play or a few months before I did.
«And obviously you have to accept all these setbacks. That was a bit unfortunate but things happen and I can live with it. I can live with it because I’m trying to achieve the goal of a lifetime in the semi-finals of the French Open.
“It didn’t happen with skiing or snowboarding or anything like that. It wasn’t a stupid accident.
«At the end of the day, I realize what life is like without tennis because before that you don’t think about it when you’re traveling 11 months a year. We’re still doing the same thing over and over again.
“You don’t appreciate it. They appreciate playing in front of the biggest stadiums in the world, they don’t appreciate the biggest cities in the world.
«So it makes me miss those things and hopefully I’m ready for something new and big.»
