Alexander Zverev absolutely must react as soon as possible after the bad results of the last month. The German champion had promised that he would not be demoralized after the tough defeat against Jannik Sinner in the final of the 2025 Australian Open, but his subsequent performances certified that he had a psychological backlash after that match.
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The Italian ace's three-month ban should have been an additional motivation for Sascha, who had the chance to dethrone Jannik and climb to the top of the ATP ranking for the first time in his career. After collecting disappointing results in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Acapulco and Indian Wells, now his chances of becoming world number 1 by May are really low.
The player from Hamburg will need to win at least two of the next three Masters 1000 to keep alive his hopes of overtaking Sinner, who will make his return to the professional tour at the Rome Masters 1000 in May.
Zverev who had made considerable progress in the second half of last season has lost confidence over the past month and a half and his performance against Tallon Griekspoor in California was emblematic of his current crisis.
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Zverev practices in Miami
Alexander loves Miami and is practicing hard at the Hard Rock Stadium to be ready for his debut.
The German reached the semifinals in Florida last year, when he was defeated by Grigor Dimitrov who was really on fire.
"Miami is my favorite city in the United States" confessed Sascha in the pre-tournament press conference.
"I love the Miami Heat, they are my absolute favorite basketball team and the conditions are more suitable for my game than Indian Wells. The courts are much faster, there is more humidity and I hope to have a great tournament.
I started the season well in Australia, but I haven't played my best tennis in the last few weeks. I have to react and change this situation," he added.
The world number 2 will make his debut against Benjamin Bonzi or a qualifier.
