World No.4 Alexander Zverev has become the latest high-profile name to fall victim to injury after being forced to withdraw from this week’s World Tennis Challenge in Adelaide.
The ATP Finals champion has confirmed that he has hurt his hamstring during a practice session. Rising fears about his fitness going into next week’s Australian Open. He announced his withdrawal from Adelaide whilst on court. Zverev was set to take on Croatia’s Borna Coric on Monday evening.
“We are sad that Zverev has withdrawn from the World Tennis Challenge.” World Tennis Challenge General Manager David Hearne said in a statement.
“We know that he was excited to play in Adelaide and (Fernando) Verdasco will now replace him tonight.”
Sasha Zverev tells the crowd he’s pulled a hamstring at practice and won’t play in @WTCAdelaide. In doubt for @AustralianOpen @tomrehn9 @9NewsAdel #shattered pic.twitter.com/fRgxOoFiYE
— Vicki Schwarz (@VickiJSchwarz) January 7, 2019
It is unclear as to how badly injured the 21-year-old is. It is understood that during his address to the crowd on Monday that the German player said he would ‘try’ to recover in time for Melbourne. Zverev is aiming to reach the fourth round of the event for the first time in his career. He has only reached the quarter-final of a major once before, which was at the 2018 French Open.
The setback comes after what was an encouraging start to the season at the Hopman Cup. Paired up with Angelique Kerber, the duo finished runners-up in the tournament. In his singles matches, Zverev scored wins over Lucas Pouille, David Ferrer and Matthew Ebden. However, he fell in straight sets when he took on 20-time grand slam champion Roger Federer in the final.
Zverev is not the only player facing fitness issues heading into the first grand slam of the year. Rafael Nadal withdrew from last week’s Brisbane International due to a muscle strain in his right thigh. Kyle Edmund is currently nursing a knee injury, which forced him to end his season early last year. Finally, Gael Monfils has withdrawn from this week’s ASB Classic in New Zealand due to a ‘thigh muscle injury.’
The Australian Open will get underway on Monday.
