"I have to prioritise my recovery": Alexander Zverev follows Alcaraz’s footsteps, skips Rotterdam due to ankle issues

Alexander Zverev decided to follow the path of Carlos Alcaraz and will not participate in the ATP 500 Rotterdam Open after his stint at the Australian Open. The German reached the semifinals in Melbourne but suffered a harsh defeat – precisely against Alcaraz – wasting a break advantage in the 5th set.

The three-time Grand Slam runner-up was the protagonist of – arguably – the best match of this year’s Aussie Open. In the semifinals, Alcaraz led by 2 sets to 0 when Zverev came back, fighting to win two tie-breaks and push everything to a 5th set. It seemed the German would pull off one of the biggest upsets of his life when he was 5-3 up in the 5th set and had the chance to serve for the match, but Alcaraz refused to give up and ended up turning the score around in the final minutes, taking the triumph 7-5 in the 5th set after more than 5 hours of battle.

Zverev totaled almost 20 hours on court during the two weeks in Melbourne, and especially the battle against Alcaraz was grueling, with five hours and 27 minutes on court, one of the longest duels in Australian Open history.

Just a few days after his painful elimination in the Happy Slam, Sascha Zverev sent a statement confirming that he suffers from ankle problems that forced him to make the decision to withdraw from the tournament. "I find it incredibly unfortunate that I have to make this decision," the world No. 4 stated.

"At the ABN AMRO Open, I was already given a chance as a young player, and that's why I always enjoy returning," Zverev said. "However, given my history with my ankle, I have to prioritise my recovery and can't take any risks. I wish everyone in Rotterdam a wonderful week."

The tournament director, Richard Krajicek, lamented Zverev’s absence – who would have been the top seed after Alcaraz’s withdrawal a day earlier. "Given his history, we would naturally have liked to see Alexander back on court, but we also understand his decision here," he said. "Everyone still remembers the images and the impact of his previous ankle injury."

With Zverev’s absence confirmed – added to Alcaraz’s confirmed withdrawal a day earlier – the tournament will feature three top-10 players in the draw, led by Australian Alex de Minaur (No. 7), who will be joined by Felix Auger-Aliassime (No. 8) and Alexander Bublik (No. 10).

The tournament will feature an interesting draw on the Dutch indoor courts, with the return of Jack Draper to the courts as one of the highlights, in what will be his first participation since the US Open five months ago. Since July last year, with Draper’s elimination in the second round at Wimbledon, he has only played one match so far and will look to quickly gain competitive rhythm before traveling to California to defend the Indian Wells title – and avoid a major drop in the rankings.

Other prominent names in the draw include Cameron Norrie, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Arthur Fils, Arthur Rinderknech, Hubert Hurkacz, and Tallon Griekspoor.