By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, August 22, 2022
Alexander Zverev has stepped out of next week’s US Open.
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Olympic gold-medal champion Zverev officially withdrew from the US Open today as he continues his recovery from ankle surgery.
Zverev, who held a two-set lead over Dominic Thiem before bowing in the 2020 US Open final, will be replaced in the Flushing Meadows field by American Stefan Kozlov. It will be Kozlov’s first US Open main-draw appearance.
Zverev is back on court hitting. His comeback is shaping up as a Hamburg homecoming.
The world No. 2 announced last week he will play Germany’s Davis Cup group stage tie in his home city of Hamburg, September 13-18th. Zverev says he’s pumped to play before home fans—and believes Germany can capture the Cup.
“We are a strong team,” Zverev told DavisCup.com. “If we play with our best players, we can go deep and even win the Davis Cup. “There is nothing better than playing before a packed home stadium.”
Germany will host Group C Davis Cup play competing against Australia, Belgium and France in September.
Should the Germans advance to November’s Davis Cup Finals knockout stage, Zverev said he will play in the Finals.
“If we achieve that, I will be part of the team again, 100 percent,” Zverev said.
In March, Zverev scored a pair of singles wins powering Germany past Brazil in Davis Cup opening-round play. Overall, the 25-year-old German owns an 8-4 Davis Cup singles record.
The Olympic gold-medal champion has been sidelined since undergoing surgery for a horrific right ankle injury he suffered in the Roland Garros semifinals vs. Rafa Nadal.
Zverev, who damaged ligaments in that crash to the red clay, was carted off the court in a wheelchair. The injury also forced him to pull out of Wimbledon in June.
The 25-year-old German underwent surgery on his right ankle on June 8th and has spent recent weeks rehabbing. Zverev shared video of his training on hard courts in Monte Carlo.
Photo credit: Andrew Ong/USTA/US Open
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