Wimbledon, the desperation of Alexander Zverev

Out in the first round at Wimbledon, Alexander Zverev confessed to a deep malaise that transcends the tennis courts. “Maybe it is time to go to therapy, I have never felt so empty in my life. It is not tennis: sometimes I feel extremely lonely–the alarm sounded by the 28-year-old German after his elimination at the hands of Arthur Rinderknech -. I have never felt so empty before. I feel lonely, I have to solve problems with myself. Since the final in Melbourne that I lost to Sinner, I feel like this”.

“Behind the surprise defeat in the London slam is not a physical problem. “No, it is more mental – said the tennis player – Sometimes I feel very lonely out there and I am struggling in my head. I’m trying to find a way out of this hole but I keep finding myself in it. In general, I feel pretty lonely in life right now, which is not pleasant at all.”

“It’s hard for me to find joy outside the tennis court right now. It’s not an excuse, it’s something I’ve been feeling for months: I feel really, really lonely. I don’t know, it has never happened to me before and I have no answers now. Maybe for the first time in my life I will need to go to therapy. It isn&#8217t tennis, even when I win matches there isn&#8217t the feeling I had before.”

“I was over the moon and felt motivated. Now I don&#8217t. I still feel among the top in the world but being an athlete everything affects the field. I have to solve the problems with myself first in order to get out of it-it’s like the feeling of going to sleep and not having motivation for the next day. Not feeling like waking up and going to work: it is the first time in my life that I feel something like that”.