Zverev reveals history behind friendship with Melo: "Everybody kept warning me about him"

Tuesday, 31 March 2020 at 11:00

Like most people in the world right now, German tennis star Alexander Zverev is also quarantined at home due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The World No.7 took to Instagram Live to reveal that he is actually spending time with Brazilian doubles specialist Marcelo Melo.

It may seem like the 36-year old Melo may not have much in common with the 22-year old German. However, the two are often inseparable anytime they're both competing at the same event. It only makes sense that both would be quarantining together in Florida due to coronavirus concerns.

In their much-touted Instagram Live stream, Zverev gave a cheeky account of how he befriended the Acapulco doubles champion.

“It was 2015 Rotterdam. He was in the locker room by himself. He’s always in the locker room by himself. He never had that many friends. I was this new guy, I was 18. Everybody kept warning me about him. I was like, ‘Nah, he looks like he’s okay,’” Zverev recalled. “I was like, ‘Hey buddy, you want to have lunch?’ He was so happy, because finally somebody wanted to become friends with him, and I took him on. Every stranded puppy needs a home, so I take care of him.”

The pair took some questions from fans, including one asking whether Zverev or Melo’s doubles partner, Lukasz Kubot, hits more double faults.

“Oof, this is a very difficult question,” Zverev said. “Lately me, nobody makes more than me.”

“Don’t say that, you’re not that bad,” Melo said as they both cracked a laugh.

On the COVID-19 outbreak and following the recommended health guidelines

Zverev also gave his thoughts regarding the current global pandemic.

It’s a very weird and difficult situation but I hope everybody is staying safe, I hope everybody is enjoying themselves at home,” Zverev said. “The more we follow rules now, the quicker we can go back to doing the things we love doing: watching live sports, doing fun activities and stuff like that. The more we follow the rules, the quicker the whole situation will solve itself and that’s why we don’t do anything, we don’t go out, we do nothing. We basically work out and stay at home and that’s it.”

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Arthur Ajayi

Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.

As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.

With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.

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