Zverev beat Yibing Wu, world number 113, 6-4, 7-6(4) in 1h36 in the second round in Shanghai. It was his first match of the tournament. That much I understood. Then he spoke on the ATP’s microphone, and that’s when I took out my notebook.
He said: “He hits every ball as hard as he can, so the match doesn’t depend much on you, apart from your serve. I felt I was serving well, but everything else depended on him and he was playing well in the second set, so I’m happy to have won in two sets”.
Silly question, but if everything else depended on Wu, and Wu was playing well, how did Wu lose? I reread it three times on the 7.32 train. The score didn’t change.
I did the sums. The serve depends on Zverev. Everything else depends on Wu. So the win comes from the serve. So all you need is a good serve. Why do other players still bother with returns, volleys, drop shots? I’m told it’s more complicated, fine, but what does that mean?
He also said he wasn’t especially calm against such an aggressive player. Neither am I, when someone hits every ball as hard as he can. And I’m not even on the court.
It’s very simple, kid: when you win, you thank your opponent. When you lose, too. Me, in Kitzbühel, I did it both times.
In the next round he plays Quentin Halys, world number 48, for the fourth time this season. He won the previous ones, but had to work for them, including one in five sets at the US Open. I asked whether that match would depend on him. I checked, and actually nobody knows.
Anyway, I still have a lot to learn.
It’s true, we checked: We Love Tennis.
