Zverev on Pneumonia Battle and Goal

By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Thursday, October 3, 2024
Photo credit: Corleve/Mark Peterson

Alexander Zverev isn’t full recovered from the bout with pneumonia that forced him out of Beijing. 

The world No. 2 is committed to playing the Rolex Shanghai Masters—and pursuing his 2024 goal.

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“I still have [pneumonia], it’s not disappeared in a week,” Alexander Zverev told the Rolex Shanghai Masters website. “It’s gonna take a few months for it to be completely gone.

“I’m on medicine, on medications. But the problem was during the Laver Cup, I felt really, really bad. And I had quite a high fever and I was throwing up quite a bit so I was just not fit enough.”

Zverev said he’s still battling fatigue at times, but feels better and is ready to give it a go in Shanghai.

“They said it is something that will not make the recovery process longer,” Zverev said. “As long as, of course, I don’t feel horrendous again like I did. It’s not something I can prolong or make it worse. As long as that’s what the doctors say, I’m willing to play and give it my best.

“It’s a good thing it’s three sets here with a day off in between—that helps. It’s not best-of-five like in New York. I’m going to give everything that I have.”

Former Olympic gold medal champion Zverev said his goal is to finish 2024 as world No 2.

“I think before the US Open the number one spot was very open for this year,” Zverev said. “But I think Jannik has kind of secured it with winning Cincinnati and the US Open back-to-back.

“So I think finishing the year number two in the world for me would be a great achievement. It would be something that I haven’t done before. So that is something in the back of my mind, of course, Carlos is playing some amazing tennis right now. So I’m expecting him to be at his best as well. Hopefully, if I’m at my best, it’s going to be a tough race until the end.”