"I feel dizzy and I see four balls coming towards me" - Alexander Zverev reveals helplessness over health issues after Paris Olympics exit
Alexander Zverev's campaign at the 2024 Paris Olympics came to an end in the quarterfinals. After the loss, the German revealed that he wasn't well for a week and was suffering from illness.
Alexander Zverev came to Paris as the defending singles gold medalist and was seeded third in the men's singles main draw. He rattled off Jaume Munar of Spain, Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic, and Alexei Popyrin of Australia in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals. Zverev faced Lorenzo Musetti in the last eight contest and was knocked out of the tournament by the Italian 7-5, 7-5.
After the match against Musetti, the German revealed that he had been battling illness during the Hamburg Open, a week before the Olympics. The weakness persisted in Paris, forcing him to shorten his practice sessions and take lengthy breaks.
"Two weeks ago in Hamburg I realised that something was wrong with me. I got tired very, very quickly. The training in Paris was not very intense either because I always got tired very quickly and needed longer breaks," he told German outlet Bild.
In Paris, Zverev started feeling helpless during his second-round match against Machac and felt the same during his quarterfinal match. The German added that he experienced dizziness and possibly blurred vision and opined that the problem might not be related to his diabetes.
"In the second round I couldn't take it anymore after one set and today I had the same feeling. I have to clarify that. It's time to see what's happening and get back to the best form I had a few weeks ago. If there is a problem with your sugar level, you feel that you are going slower and you don't feel like exercising. Here I feel dizzy and I see four balls coming towards me. I feel like I can't do anything anymore," he said.
Alexander Zverev's participation at Canadian Open 2024 in limbo due to illness
Alexander Zverev is currently scheduled to play at the Masters 1000 Canadian Open after his Paris Olympics exit. The German is seeded second and will face either Jordan Thompson or Jack Draper in the second round after receiving a first-round bye.
However, there is a chance that he will withdraw from the tournament altogether. Zverev revealed that he will travel to Monaco to diagnose the illness that hampered his Paris Olympics campaign and then decide on his Canadian Open participation.
"If I feel like I do now and like I felt all week, I can't win a tournament like that. I feel like I'm at the beginning of the season," he said.
Alexander Zverev is a former champion at the Canadian Open, having won his second Masters 1000 title at the tournament in 2017. He is not defending many points in Canada this year after losing in the second round in 2023.