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That’s right – Alexander Zverev is officially back in business on the ATP Tour. As you might recall, Zverev missed half of the 2022 season after suffering a shocking ankle injury at Roland Garros against Rafael Nadal. This horror injury caused Zverev to undergo surgery, and it’s been a long recovery process for the talented German. In fact, he didn’t officially compete again on the ATP Tour until a few weeks ago!
This took place during the United Cup, and you could tell that he still felt cautious concerning the ankle. However, this is perfectly normal when recovering from such severe injuries. Furthermore, Zverev was still scheduled to compete at the 2023 Australian Open. So the last thing he would want is to rush back and push too hard at the risk of hindering his participation in Melbourne.
Anyway, he played gingerly through the United Cup and returned to the Australian Open earlier today. Many weren’t overly hopeful about Zverev’s chances in the event given that this was his first real tournament back. Yet he has gone out there and competed like an absolute warrior to defeat Varillas in an epic five-setter.
In case you missed it, let me give you the juicy details right now.
Zverev Beats Varillas in Australian Open 2023 Comeback
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It might have taken him more than four hours, but Zverev is officially through to the second round in Melbourne. He trailed by 2-1 in sets before showing us the fighting spirit that has brought the German through so many close contests in the past. But to really appreciate this result, you need the blow-by-blow account:
Cagey Opening Set
As many of us expected, Zverev didn’t look all that comfortable in the first set out there. Then again, he hasn’t played a top-level tournament in almost 9 months, so it was no great surprise to see this cagey opener. Ultimately, he lost the first set 6-4 to the lucky loser, Varillas.
Two Sets to One Down
Zverev turned up the heat in the second set to run through the world number 103 by a score of 6-1. Yet he took his foot off the gas in the third and let his opponent steal it by a score of 7-5. Of course, this meant that he was just one set away from crashing out in the first round of the Australian Open.
Big Heart to Take the Win
At two sets to one down, Zverev needed to pull out all the stops to come back and secure victory. And like a true champion, he raised his level to take things down to the wire in the 4th. He took this 4th set in a breaker (7-3), and he ran with the momentum to push through in the fifth too. In this final set shootout, Zverev demonstrated enormous heart, in my opinion, even if he was just playing a lucky loser.
He fought hard to stay in the rallies and he remained calm despite his opponent producing a flurry of flashing groundstrokes. These traits subsequently helped him take the final set by a score of 6-4, and he now lives to fight another day.
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