Archive of posts tagged Adam Walton

Watch: Alexander Zverev's bizarre Toronto moment; Umpire, crowd has good laugh

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Acapulco

Alexander Zverev had a bizarre but also hilarious moment during his opening Toronto Masters match as the world No. 3 passionately celebrated what he thought was an ace on a set point. 

Leading 7-6 in the first-set tie-break against Adam Walton, the German – who is seeded at No. 1 at the Canadian Open – went for a big serve down the line. The three-time Grand Slam finalist instantly started celebrating, believing that he sealed the first set. But he was quickly corrected by the chair umpire, who shouted, "fault!" The 28-year-old was left in disbelief while the chair umpire and the crowd had a good laugh.

However, Zverev remained calm and he did convert his set point at 7-6. Then, the top seed went on to complete a 7-6 (6) 6-4 win and progress into the Toronto Masters third round, where he plays against Matteo Arnaldi.

Zverev highlighted the importance of winning the first set

Before taking the tie-break, the Zverev trailed 3-5 and he was close to finding himself down by a set.

“It was a very important moment, very important point for me. Lucky to get through in the first set and finishing it off in two… Sometimes it’s about winning a match, [despite] not always playing your best. I know it wasn’t the prettiest match, for sure, but I haven’t played a match in four weeks. I took some time off, which I needed also for myself. I’m happy to be playing again. Tomorrow is another day and I hope I will be better tomorrow," the German said.

Against Arnaldi, Zverev has a 1-0 head-to-head record. However, their first meeting which came in Acapulco this year, was a very tight contest as the German had to come back from a set down to beat the Italian 6-7 (2) 6-3 6-4.

Alexander Zverev confesses what he is trying to 'convince' Toni Nadal

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Adam Walton

Alexander Zverev is very pleased with the help that Toni Nadal offered and admits he is working on "convincing" the legendary coach to do more work with him.

Following a latest Grand Slam heartbreak and losing in the Wimbledon first round, the German revealed that he was in a bad place mentally, which also negatively translated to his tennis. When making a candid mental health revelation, the world No. 3 also indicated that he may decide to put his tennis career on a pause.

After taking some time to figure out his next move, Zverev decided to reach out to Rafael Nadal's uncle. And Uncle Toni agreed to spend some time with the 28-year-old and invited him to the Nadal academy in Mallorca. However, not everything is great and ideal for the German as the 64-year-old coach has his own commitments, which make it impossible for the Spaniard to become the world No. 3's full-time traveling coach.

Zverev: I'm trying to convince Toni Nadal to do more weeks with me 

“I went there, I saw him and it was an amazing 10 days. I really enjoyed it and I’m very thankful to him and to Rafa also for welcoming me the way I did. It was really nice. The time in Mallorca was amazing. I'm trying to convince him to do more weeks with me, and we'll see how it goes, but he's a very busy man. Also he has a lot of dates that he already committed to this year, so I'm not sure how much of him you'll see this year," the three-time Grand Slam runner-up explained.

Meanhwile, Zverev is returning to action this week for the first time since his early Wimbledon exit. Since Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are not playing at the Toronto Masters, the German is the top seed. After a first-round bye, he is due to play against Adam Walton.