After what has been a turbulent start to the 2022 season Alexander Zverev is looking to get back on track with the help of recently appointed coach Sergi Bruguera.
The world No.3 has been working alongside the Spaniard in recent weeks on what was initially a trial basis but he has since confirmed that a more permanent arrangement has been established. 51-year-old Bruguera is a two-time French Open champion who has also worked as captain of his country’s Davis Cup team. He has also previously coached Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Speaking to reporters at the Caja Magica, venue of the Madrid Open, Zverev refused to put a timeline on how long the two may work together but is hopeful that it will be ‘for a very long time.’ He had been coached by his father Alexander Sr and also worked with David Ferrer.
“Obviously I have been without a coach, like a real coach for six, seven months now, since my father had some other things that he had to deal with,” said Zverev.
“At the end of the day, I thought that it’s not going to be such a long time. I thought my father would be back maybe a little bit sooner, but it is what it is. There are sometimes more important things than tennis and I need a coach. I need guidance. I need somebody who can look out for what is going on on the tennis court. I think Serg is one of the best guys for this.”
Originally Bruguera wasn’t the first Spanish coach which came to the mind of the 25-year-old who confirmed that he had hoped to reunite with Ferrer. Ironically, it was Ferrer who laid the foundations for the recent appointment of a new coach.
“I talked to David Ferrer again because for me he’s a great guy. He said that at the moment he has a lot of other things to do, and he’s the one that suggested Sergi Bruguera,” Zverev explained.
“We tried in Miami and it worked out very well. We get along extremely well on court. Hopefully it will be a successful relationship.”
The hope for the German is that he can regain the consistency in his form during what has been a mixed start to the year. Heading into the Madrid Masters, he has won 17 out of 23 matches played so far this season and reached the final of the Montpellier Open. However, Zverev has also been embroiled in controversy after being disqualified from the Mexican Open for swearing at the umpire and hitting his chair with a racket multiple times.
In his most recent tournament at the Munich Open, Zverev lamented his loss to Holger Rune as one of the worst performances of his career. Rune went on to claim his maiden ATP title on Sunday after Botic van de Zandschulp retired due to injury during the final.
“I played a very bad match. I didn’t die or I didn’t get injured or something like this. It was just a very bad match in Munich,” he stated.
“I’m happy to be here (in Madrid). This is obviously one of my favorite places in the world to play tennis. So we will see how this week goes but I’m excited, I’m motivated.”
Zverev is the reigning Madrid Open champion and also lifted the title back in 2018. Granted a first round bye in this year’s draw, he will play his opening match against either Marin Cilic or Albert Romos-Vinolas.
