Australian Open 2023, 1st Round, Tuesday, 17.01.2023
Alexander Zverev had to wait a long time for this, but now the time has finally come: many months after his serious injury, he is finally allowed to play on the big stage again at the Australian Open, even if he still has no title ambitions.
The Olympic champion still has to find his rhythm, but was lucky to be drawn against a qualifier in the draw.
In my Varillas Zverev tip, I will therefore try to give more information on the underdog and of course also reveal why I would take the risk of allowing the German to make a few mistakes!
He didn’t end up counting titles in 2022, but the ligaments he tore at the French Open. Alexander Zverev has had a long time of suffering that may now finally come to an end.
He twisted his ankle in the clash against Rafael Nadal, injured himself badly and did not know when exactly a comeback would make sense. According to Zverev, seven ligaments had been affected.
The German therefore knows full well that he must not compete Down Under with his sights set too high. “It will take time for me to get back to a really good level. The most important thing is to stay healthy, to be able to play through the season.”
Of course, he still doesn’t want to afford an embarrassment in the 1st round, especially since his opponent doesn’t even appear in the world’s top 100. The Hamburg native will face Jose Pablo Varillas of Peru early on Tuesday morning.
Zverev hasn’t played a proper match since 03 June, it will probably take him a while to find his game again. Is the Australian Open perhaps at least his favourite tournament on the big stage?
A year ago, he lost to Denis Shapovalov in the last 16, and his best tennis came in 2020 when he had to congratulate Dominic Thiem on his victory shortly before the final.
The last time Zverev was knocked out in a 1st round match was in 2016, and that was quite clearly against Andy Murray, who was ranked second in the world at the time. Our bookmakers are relatively sure that he won’t be able to do that this time.
His win odds don’t even reach an average of 1.10, while his rival even gets into double figures at some points. Juan Pablo Varillas is admittedly not a household name to every tennis fan.
27 years old, the Peruvian would probably be one of his greatest sporting moments ever if he could beat Alexander Zverev. The 103rd rank is currently on the books, and Varillas hasn’t been much better.
Only once did he appear in the main draw at a Grand Slam. And that was at the very tournament that caused Zverev his terrible injury. A few months ago in Paris, Varillas came within a whisker of causing an absolute sensation.
Against Felix Auger-Aliassime, he took the first two sets 6-2, but then the top favourite rallied to win 6-1, 6-3, 6-3. So he might know how to surprise world stars.
In order for him to be allowed to play against the reigning Olympic champion, an exhausting qualification was necessary. He won against Roberto Marcora and Alexis Galarnerau in three sets.
Only against Yosuke Watanuki did he manage an outright victory and thus enter the main round. By the way, his last appearance last year was an extremely positive one, not for nothing did the Peruvian win a Challenger against Facundo Bagnis.
There is still a big question mark behind Alexander Zverev’s performance. He is finally playing a match under competitive conditions again, but of course he knows how quickly one can make a fool of oneself.
I think Jose Pablo Varillas is much weaker, but I don’t want to neglect the fact that Zverev is completely without match practice. For this reason, I can also imagine that we should at least not rule out losing sets.
For me personally, Zverev cannot be back to his old self yet. His opponent also knows how long it has been since he played a match. The German may, of course, be the house favourite, but my tip nevertheless takes the following risk:
Varillas takes a set from Zverev!
