"I just want to see that passion": Alexander Zverev embraces South American clay swing
ATP
Alexander Zverev has been the centre of attention upon his arrival at the Argentina Open, marking his first participation in the Golden Swing in South America. The German is in Buenos Aires for the second time, though this will be his first time competing on the tournament’s clay courts.
Not many top players choose to travel to South America after the Australian Open, given the surface change and the long journey involved. However, this year, Zverev has opted for a schedule adjustment, having previously focused on European and North American events during this period.
The world No. 2 recalled his first visit to South America when he played a series of exhibition matches alongside Roger Federer back in 2019. "I love the football atmosphere—Argentina is incredibly passionate about sports. I was here a few years ago with Roger (Federer), and the atmosphere was unbelievable. I’m excited to experience this unique energy again and hope the crowd gets involved and supports the tournament with passion."
The three-time Grand Slam finalist acknowledged the enthusiasm of Argentine fans but hopes for a warm reception when he steps onto the court. "As long as people are passionate and truly enjoy the sport and the players who come here, that's what matters. Obviously, every country wants a local player to win, and here they'll be rooting for an Argentine. I just want to see that passion, which always brings excitement."
"I want to prepare well for the tournament. We thought about going out for dinner last night, and we’ll probably go out again today. I want to experience the Argentine lifestyle, but my main focus is playing the tournament. I want to give myself the best chance to play great tennis and win. I’m 100% committed to preparing and competing at my best."
"Personally, I think it’s very important to have tournaments here, to have this kind of clay-court swing in South America," Sascha Zverev commented. "It’s the only time professional tournaments take place in South America. Tennis is a global sport and is huge here, especially in Argentina and Brazil."
"Historically, this region has produced great players, and I believe these tournaments are crucial for tennis development here and for the ATP Tour in general. I’m really happy to be here officially for the first time, and I hope it’s a fun week for everyone," he concluded.
¿Lo conocen a este Chad?
— Todo Sobre Tenis (@Tsobretenis) February 8, 2025
Zverev calienta motores para debutar el miércoles o jueves por la noche en el #ArgentinaOpen 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/YF7nGBtu9p
Just In
Popular News
Latest Comments
- "Intensified" ??? Yeah, right. Nothing has changed... nothing has "intensidfied"; only continued.
mandoist10-02-2025 - Bencic is all business right now. If Rybakina is the ice queen, then Bencic is Antarctica—colder, sharper, and seemingly unstoppable. 🔥❄️MrAndreeva07-02-2025
- Creepy.mandoist07-02-2025
- Ouch!!mandoist07-02-2025
- they need to change the rules on the WTA to limit wildcards more effectively like they have on the ATPSososo06-02-2025
- This is just getting beyond ridiculous!! Not to mention unsportsmanlike and unfair to serious up & coming contenders.mandoist06-02-2025
- No, writer, we were not "stunned". If you knew your business you would have been aware of her statement last weekend re: her knee and retirement. The main take-away here is that Simona went out on her own terms. She surely wanted to play again after WTA & ITIA screwed her out of her final productive seasons. Personally, I believed she was going to make this announcement when I saw the President and his family in their box seats. Good for Simone -- now she can move on to other things as she said she would.mandoist04-02-2025
- It sounds seriously absurd that in Davis Cup, (unlike Grand Slams such as the Aus Open), medical time outs off court with the medical staff are not allowed?? I mean, if this was an Aus Open match, and the same thing happened to Gurin then, he would have been able to go off court for official medical time out and make an informed decision whether to resume the match or retire. How come such conditions do not apply in Davis Cup?? I mean, there with Davis Cup, it is even more like a soccer match or basketball game in that teams are playing. And so as with those, it ought to be the case in tennis that if a player needs serious medical time out, then one of the other team mates ought to substitute and each team needs to have stand-ins or understudies in case substitution is needed which will be rare but as we can see here, this kind of circumstance fits. But even if the teams do not go down the road of subbing other team mates in, in case of a health issue like the one which played out here, at least, as in the Aus Open and other Grand Slams, there ought to be time-outs with the health professionals and at the conclusion of these time-outs, the particular decision that has been reached between them and the player needs to be taken on board by the umpire. PERIOD.
Sueiyin04-02-2025 - "If Novak did this, he would be defaulted for life. WTF." 🤣 WTF sounds like What Tennis Fury?! What Tennis Flurry??! I mean, se-rious-ly, it was actually the unfairness of the silly umpire's decision that is the issue here! Further, how come it was Gurin & his team who got disqualified? If this kind of thing happens in soccer, it would be the other guy getting the yellow or red card! Because after all, it was the Belgian who's foul it was so why then penalize the opponents for something they didn't instigate? Fouls in both basketball and soccer are read as a hinderance that has been caused by the player who INITIALLY instigated the hinderance. In this case, okay, it is tennis, but while the precise rules are different to either soccer or basketball, the same type of recognition as to whoever instigates a hinderance should apply, and in this case, it was the Belgian player.Sueiyin04-02-2025
- Medvedev talking to his form here. "Some actual deep problem." 🤣😂🤣MrAndreeva03-02-2025
