Zverev, the wayward fought with double faults

Those few, very few, privileged who attend the duel on the track Arthur Ashe are stunned while the tension is chewed and

, trembling as a flan, is about to take out in front of Borna Coric when suddenly, he stops dead: "You're talking too loud ... I can hear every word you say throughout the game."

The German, as good as he is still brittle, addresses the famous ESPN commentator, Brad Gilbert, who before getting in front of the microphone trained, among others, a certain Andre Agassi and a very good Scotsman named Andy Murray.

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• Zverev, a talent in question

Zverev's tone of voice stung, but what really hurt was the analysis Gilbert ("oh, sorry!") Was doing at that very moment, just before serving.

The announcer was referring to

Achilles heel

these days, double faults.

And the note was more than timely.

After all, the one from Hamburg is the tennis player who has committed the most (41) in this edition of the US Open, ahead of the already dismounted Denis Shapovalov (36) and David Goffin (36), and of course his rival this Friday (22.00, Eurosport) in the semifinals, the meritorious Pablo Carreño (9).

Six signed against Kevin Anderson, 10 against Brandon Nakashima, one more against Adrian Mannarino and 12, a more than bulky figure, in the meeting with Coric.

There was only one exception, the two rulings against Alejandro Davidovich.

"I have to improve in many things," says the German bigard, who is almost two meters (1.98) tall and who is sometimes hard to believe due to the laziness that his speech tends to give off or because, directly, the facts invite it: it was the great chosen one and has taken some steps, but tennis reserves a place for him that is finding it difficult to reach.

At 23 years old, he can say that he has won an entire Masters Cup (2018) and three Masters 1000 (Rome and Canada in 2017, and Madrid in 2018), or that he has occupied the third rung of the

, three years ago;

However, the Grand Slams are a Machiavellian labyrinth that requires the tennis player to draw a thousand stocks and give a bonus that, in his case, has not yet arrived.

His slips in the opening rounds have been common, but this season he could perhaps mark a turning point.

In January he reached the semifinals in Australia and now has a golden opportunity to make a qualitative leap in New York.

There he is, in fact, the first male representative from his country to reach the penultimate round since Boris Becker achieved it in 1995. Becker, who knows him like few others because he has followed in his footsteps since he lifted a couple of feet off the ground , urged him in January to detach himself from his domineering father and find a coach.

He is working on it, and in mid-July he trained with David Ferrer, now retired, with the hope that the Alicante-born man would inoculate him with that warrior spirit that took him very far.

Arduous task awaits the one from Xàbia, with whom he is texting remotely these days and who will accompany him at Roland Garros.

From Ferrero to David Ferrer

"He wastes too much time with Instagram," the Valencian Juan Carlos Ferrero reproached him, who advised him for half a year.

“He is very anarchic in his way of thinking and changes very little.

He was always unpunctual and did not respect the guidelines that were set for him, "added the former number one.

It has a huge Zverev projection, and also very bad fleas.

"Maybe you should take a look at my record and realize that I have a positive face to face with Federer," she replied to the historic Martina Navratilova, who recently recommended raising her level because otherwise she would not be able to compete with the strongest. ;

“I'm in the semi-finals, and sometimes finding a way to win without being at your best is more important than anything else.

She is a highly respected champion, but her opinion doesn't matter to me. "

He does listen to Novak Djokovic, whom he supports in the creation of his new players' association, outside the ATP, and after passing the third round he was fined $ 1,500 for "unsportsmanlike conduct."

Before arriving at the tournament, he left a press conference when asked about his incident on the Adria Tour, the tour Nole put on in June in his country.

Having been in contact with colleagues who had tested positive forced him to do the rigorous quarantine, and so he said he would.

Six days later, a video portrayed him surrounded by women at a crowded party.

It's Zverev, four wins over Federer, two over Djokovic and one over Nadal.

Talent and dispersion at similar doses.

Nine double faults separated him from Acapulco in February, against Tommy Paul, and three when he served to beat Murray in Cincinnati.

He has a hammer - he is the second with the most

(92) in the tournament, behind Shapovalov (94), and has the third most powerful serve, with a peak of 225 km / h -, he has charisma, physicality and The hits.

It has almost everything.

Maybe you just need to learn to listen better.