Although Alexander Zverev is back on the practice court, he was never expected to be ready in time for the U.S. Open. Zverev confirmed that on Monday, when he officially withdrew from the season’s final Grand Slam because of the ankle injury he suffered in the French Open semifinals against Rafael Nadal.
You can follow U.S. Open live scores on Flashscore.
The world No. 2 rolled over his right ankle while running to hit a forehand late in the second set. He tore multiple ligaments and had surgery a few days later.
“After further examination in Germany, we received confirmation that all three of the lateral ligaments in my right ankle were torn,” Zverev wrote at the time. “To return to competition as quickly as possible, to ensure all the ligaments heal properly, and to reclaim full stability in my ankle, surgery was the best choice. My rehab starts now and I’ll do everything to come back stronger than ever!”
The 2020 U.S. Open runner-up is back on the practice court, where he was first seen two weeks ago. “Happy kid back at his favorite playground,” Zverev posted via Instagram on August 7.
However, a real tournament–especially one that involves best-of-five-set matches–is a whole different story. As such, the 25-year-old joins a U.S. Open withdrawal list that also includes Gael Monfils and Reilly Opelka. Novak Djokovic, who is unvaccinated, will be forced to withdraw if the United States government does not change its travel restrictions sometime this week.
Zverev’s absence means Nadal will be the No. 2 seed in New York, opposite top-seeded Daniil Medvedev in the draw. Cincinnati runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas, ranked fifth, now gets a top-four seed. Tommy Paul, Maxime Cressy, and Nikoloz Basilashvili will be seeded as a result of the three recent withdrawals. Miomir Kecmanovic will get a seed if one more top 32 player–likely Djokovic–is unable to play.
The U.S. Open begins next Monday and the main draw will be revealed on Thursday.
Rafa-Med final?
How do you rate Nick’s chances?
A lot depends on Joker…play?…or no play?….even if he does play, I’ll take Med….w/Sinner also in the mix.
BG just tweeted that Novax is out of the USO.
Evidently I would like official confirmation!
Big news if true.
How would BG know. He has no contacts with CDC , though he will with USTA
Novak will say if he is withdrawing won’t he ?
Are u talking of this tweet Amy? I think he is just replying to someone’s tweet, not saying anything himself
https://mobile.twitter.com/bgtennisnation/status/1562022828513402881
Yes that’s the one sanju!
I was just coming here to say this info is not reliable.
Sorry guys!😀
I do hope if he can’t play he withdraws before the draw. His fans are all online saying he should wait till Monday which is absurd. They are not going to change the guidance over the weekend.
Surely he doesn’t want more negative press and the crowds turning against him…?
But I thought usta said that Thursday is the ultimatum and he has to withdraw officially before Thursday…how then can he wait till Monday
I don’t know sanju! That is what I read and so did Ramara! It’s all very confusing..
Ricky could you clarify if you read this please?
For what it’s worth, if Novak doesn’t have permission by the time of the draw I think he is going to withdraw anyway. I don’t think he will want the negative press he has had before.
Doubt that NoVax will feel any pressure to withdraw early since he’s not one of the top seeds anyway. Sixth or seventh since Zverev will be MIA? Covid and Putin between them have really screwed things up.
I was in VB yesterday and they posted something from Twitter about an entry list that showed Novak was out. I don’t know if that is official, but I thought it worth mentioning here.
I just went back on VB again. Now they are saying this information is from a troll account. I think that it’s best to just stop posting any of this until there is a final decision. It’s getting kind of nonsensical.