Silly question, but how do you come back when you never left? A journalist asked Alexander Zverev, before the Rolex Paris Masters, whether the generation of Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas was finally coming back to the front. Zverev answered: “I think Daniil never left.”
So I looked into it. Where was he? According to Zverev, he had a slightly worse season last year, finished “what, ninth or tenth in the world?” He said it from memory. On the 7:32 train, I explained this to my neighbour. She asked how many players there are in total. Lots. Ninth or tenth, then. To me, someone who is ninth out of lots is there. Quite far ahead, even.
And now Medvedev is back in the top 5, and Zverev thinks he will stay there. I note that the words “back again” are used for someone who hadn’t left. I checked, and actually nobody knows.
Zverev also said: “I think you have to be careful when you say that players have declined or are losing steam, or something like that, because I think we’ve forgotten how truly excellent a tennis player Daniil is and what results he is capable of getting.” He has respect for him and sees him doing great things again over the next four or five years.
As for Tsitsipas, he thinks he has had a few more problems, but that he can play excellent tennis. I asked the newsroom whether he had left, too.
Left, came back, it’s the same movement seen from two sides of the net, you know.
I wrote that in my notebook, I don’t understand it yet. Anyway, I still have a lot to learn.
It’s true, we checked: We Love Tennis.
