German tennis star Alexander Zverev is in a lucky situation that he can continue training amid the coronavirus outbreak which has, however, halted play at the worst possible time for him.
Zverev had reached his first career grand slam semi-final in January at the Australian Open before the pandemic stopped play in March, with a restart not possible until mid-July, at the earliest.
“I felt that I was playing really well, that I was very close to the top at a grand slam tournament,” Zverev, who turned 23 on Monday, told DPA in a telephone interview from Florida.
“My serve was getting better and better, I felt really comfortable on the court. I also didn’t have a lot of (ranking) points to defend. So of course it’s bitter, I could have risen in the ranking. But there are more important things at the moment.”
Zverev, one of the rising youngsters on the circuit, has been as high as number three in the rankings and is currently seventh in the ATP list. He has 11 career titles including at the 2018 ATP Finals but until the Melbourne major had never excelled at the grand slams. Now Wimbledon is cancelled, the French Open postponed until September (if possible) and the fate of the US Open not fully clear despite still being on the calendar from late August onwards, with its host city of New York hard hit by Covid-19 in the US.
“It is difficult to say. But it is difficult to imagine, especially as the hard court season in the US is supposed to start in late July and early August,” he acknowledged. 
“I think the ATP has to see what is possible at what time. If it doesn’t work in the US, it might work in Europe. There they are a little further. Maybe you have to stage tournaments there.”
Zverev said he would be content with matches behind closed doors to get going again but is well aware of the unique problems his sport faces.
“At the end of the day I would rather play without a spectator than not play at all. Even if it were a shame. But if it’s safer, why not?” he said. 
“The biggest problem is that we have to travel from all over the world. I think that travel restrictions are the biggest problem we have in tennis.” Zverev is in Florida with his parents and his brother’s family but his girlfriend can’t join because of travel restrictions imposed before she could travel.
“We are in a small village near Tampa, where only around 20,000 people live. We train at the Saddlebrook Academies, on the tennis court and in the gym. Apart from that we are practically only at home. We don’t see anyone, I haven’t even been to the supermarket the whole time,” he said.
The coronavirus threat is very real for him and his relatives because “the father of my mother’s best friend died of Corona, so of course you start to worry.”
Zverev said he is mainly working on improving his serve and his backhand, as well as his overall fitness to be ready for the restart. He has also joined German football champions Bayern Munich in one of their cyber training sessions and has donated for the Kick out Corona campaign set up by Bayern players Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka.  Zverev also readily admitted that it is at times difficult for him, like many other top athletes in other sports, to motivate himself because a restart date can’t be given but he is trying to stay positive.
“Of course it is not always easy. You don’t really know what you’re training for. But I now see that as an effort for the next few years. I am sure that I will benefit from working so hard now,” he said.
“I would rather play than exercise. That’s obvious. But you have to see the positive in everything. We’d all rather be playing the clay court season in Europe now, but because that doesn’t work, we just use the time to prepare as best we can for the moment when it starts again.”
And Zverev also believes that the coronavirus outbreak can deliver some positives for mankind for the future.
“I think that people can enjoy simple things more. Spending time with friends, just having a good meal. Things like that are more valued now,” he said. 
“And maybe we will finally take a closer look at our climate, the environment, and our planet in general. I do believe that you can take something positive from this time.”