Alexander Zverev has never been a huge fan of the new Davis Cup format and most experts were surprised when he announced his participation in this year's 'Final 8' in Bologna.
The current world number 3 has had a season below expectations from the point of view of results, if you consider that he has only lifted one trophy (in a second-rate tournament) and has not broken the curse in the Slams. After reaching the final at the Australian Open at the beginning of the year, the German champion sank into a serious crisis that made him lose all those certainties he had acquired in the last part of last season.
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Sascha asked Toni Nadal for help after his untimely elimination at the Wimbledon Championships in the summer and did a training session at the Manacor Academy, but Rafa's former coach has too many commitments at this stage of his life and does not intend to return to traveling around the world full-time.
Cerundolo on facing Zverev
Everyone knows that next season will be decisive for Alexander's future at the highest level, given that numerous young talents are emerging and the dominance of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner shows no sign of stopping.
During a long interview with 'La Nacion', the Argentine ace Francisco Cerundolo spoke about Zverev and his current status: "Sascha has been in the Top 5 of the ATP rankings for many years and is a player of the highest level. I was quite surprised when I learned that he was going to play in the Davis Cup Finals this year and this news affected me directly, since I will be his opponent. Maybe he wants to take revenge on me, since I was able to beat him several times. My game bothers him and I can't wait to play it again."
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Germany have arguably become the huge favourites in Bologna since world No.1 Carlitos Alcaraz announced his withdrawal due to injury (suffered during the final of the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin).
