‘Juvenile Diabetes, Nightmare Injuries and a Gold Quest’: Alexander Zverev’s Search for a Maiden Major Title Continues – News18

Alexander Zverev has been in the fray for a while now and the German, who went down to Spanish sensation Carlos Alcarez in the Quarterfinal of the US Open 2023 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday, is an absolute inspiration for millions around the world, not just for his on-court performances, but also for his off-court struggles and the eventual triumphs that followed.

The 26-year-old German from Hamburg, who is still in pursuit of his maiden career grand slam title, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the juvenile age of three. Imagery of the German star carrying around insulin pens in his kit bag during tournaments is commonplace and he has battled the odds to attain the status he has achieved on the tour.

He came close to realising his dream of a first major title in the year 2020 during the hard-court swing at Flushing Meadows, only for him to be given a reality check in the finals of the US Open by Dominic Thiem, who walked away with the title on the day.

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Zverev has yet to reach a final of a major ever since and his repeated attempts to real the summit clash across surfaces have been cut short by one special player after another.

Zverev garnered international sympathy after suffering a horrendous twist to his ankle during the French Open 2023 semifinal clash against record-title winner Rafael Nadal.

The German and the Spaniard were involved in a two-hour slugfest that did not make it past the second set before Zverev was forced to surrender the fixture as he couldn’t carry on any longer following one of the most disturbing ‘anklebreaks’ on the court.

Zverev was a set down and as the second set crept into a tiebreaker against the 14-time champion in the final four of the event in Roland Garros, before he had to leave the court in a wheelchair.

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Despite the vacuum in the grand slam cabinet, Zverev has reached the highest ATP ranking of World No.2 position back in June of the year 2022.

The German’s first-ever ATP title came at the St. Petersburg Open in the year 2016, but his name was out in the open even before the triumph as he got the better of his tennis idol, Roger Federer, in the semifinal of the Halle Open earlier in the year, only to surrender the title in the summit clash against Thiem.

He has gone on to pick up 20 ATP titles overall, of which 5 are ATP 1000 events and 2 Challenger events. Notably, he has also managed to win the ATP Tour Finals twice, in the years 2018 and 2021, in addition to the Olympic gold he picked up in the year 2020.

The 26-year-old, who has fought his way back from diabetes and nightmarish injuries, will eye his first-ever grand slam title in the succeeding calendar and will hope the year 2024 brings him the piece of silverware he seems to be longing for.