"He is a good player, but the time of being the prince before being the king may have slipped away; Two years ago he had seven contracts and now he has one" - Patricio Apey on his split with Alexander Zverev
Patricio Apey, the former manager of Alexander Zverev, has discussed, among other things, the German's dearth of contracts after they parted ways.
Zverev was represented by the Chilean and his London-based sports management company, ACE Group International, from when he was 15 years old until 2018, when the German filed a lawsuit against them.
Alexander #Zverev confirms legal dispute with former agent Patricio Apey
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Following this contentious dispute with the manager and his company, Zverev swiftly came to an agreement and teamed up with Team8, which also handles Roger Federer's affairs. Federer is also a shareholder in the company.
Zverev, however, parted ways with Team8 in 2021 as well, and his brother Mischa Zverev is now in charge of managing his affairs.
Alexander Zverev Ditches Federer’s TEAM8 Management Firm To Return To His ‘Roots’ - ubitennis.net/2021/01/alexan… https://t.co/Xpfu3nG7zH
In a recent interview with CLAY, Apey discussed Alexander Zverev and his contract woes in light of their once-sweet but now-bitter relationship. He added that despite being a strong candidate to win many Grand Slam titles, Zverev's prime years have passed.
"Looking at the past, things are very clear: two years ago, he had seven contracts and, as far as I know, now he has one left," Apey said. "He is a very good player and he is going to win many Grand Slams, but the time of being the prince before being the king may have slipped away."
The Chilean went on to claim that he had "no problem" with Zverev and their separation and that the German "must have his reasons" for doing so.
"If he wins five Wimbledons, he can change things. He’s like a typical champion tennis player who always knows more than the other guy. I have no problem with him. Things happen, he must have his reasons. He made it clear in the press," he added.
"If Alexander Zverev had told me he wanted to go with Federer, I would have taken him to them" - Patricio Apey
According to Patricio Apey, who now acts as a manager for Stefanos Tsitsipas, when Alexander Zverev was at the peak of his career, someone persuaded him to join the opposition.
"When he got to number 3 with me, a fabulous end of the year, with seven advertising contracts, someone convinced him that the grass is greener on the other side," Apey said during the interview with CLAY.
He added that he would have gladly taken Zverev to Federer's management team if the World No. 2 told him to do so.
"If he had told me he wanted to go with Federer, I would have taken him to them, and told them he’s a nice guy, sensitive, and to watch out for the ego. However, that has to be arranged, it can’t be that he decides to cut me out, alone," he added.
During his encounter against eventual champion Rafael Nadal in the 2022 French Open semifinals, the German sustained a terrible injury. Alexander Zverev twisted his ankle late in the second set and had to be helped off Court Philippe-Chatrier in a wheelchair. Since then, the German has not participated in any tournaments.
However, he recently stated that his foot condition is progressively improving at a press conference in Hamburg, indicating that he may yet compete in New York. He is on the entry list for the hard-court Major.