World Tennis League 2022: I’ve missed being on court, happy to get first win in a long time – Alexander Zverev

Germany’s Alexander Zverev was last seen in action in the semifinal of the Roland Garros against Rafael Nadal. Zverev suffered a horrific ankle injury in the tiebreker of the second set, which ruled him out for a few months back in June.

The German made his return in the ongoing World Tennis League and he was up against Novak Djokovic. However, despite returning to action after such a long time, Zverev was able to hit the ground running. Zverev won against the Serbian by 6-3, 6-4 at the Coca Cola Arena on Tuesday and he was delighted with his performance.

“The atmosphere was amazing, I’ve missed being on court, I’ve missed playing in front of this kind of crowd, in these stadiums,” said Zverev on court.

“I knew I had to play the best tennis I’ve played in the last seven months, which is not that difficult, but I’m happy to get my first win in a long time.”

On the other hand, the Eagles duo of Paula Badosa and Grigor Dimitrov defeated Dominic Thiem and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Badosa added it is great to have Novak Djokovic by their side and get to pick his brain.

“We’re having fun, enjoying, and at the same time competing. It’s a good opportunity for us, it’s an amazing chance to share moments with Novak, learning from him as well,” said Badosa after the win.

Meanwhile, Falcons’ Aryna Sabalenka defeated Elena Rybakina by 0-6, 6-1, 10-6. Sabalenka stated it was a nice experience on the court.

“It was an interesting experience actually. I was trying to understand if we should go serious or we have to have fun and all this stuff. It was a nice experience. Interesting colour of the court actually,” said Sabalenka.

“You can see the ball but you have to be really focused, that’s why you’re losing a little bit of your focus because you’re trying to look so hard at the ball. But it was nice and fun.”