Can Alexander Zverev bounce back at 2019 Madrid Open?

While all eyes focus on the found farewell for David Ferrer, defending champion Alexander Zverev is in need of a strong Madrid Open performance.

Alexander Zverev ousts Spanish tennis veteran David Ferrer 6-4, 6-1 during his opener at the 2019 Madrid Open. It would be a tough, yet emotional match for Ferrer to go out on, especially after his epic three-set win over Roberto Bautista Agut to open his tournament. And while the crowd cheered for Ferrer, there is no doubt that Zverev’s mind was also looking ahead.

The young German tennis star has emerged as one of the next great players in men’s tennis. His meeting with Ferrer is the perfect embodiment of the ATP Tour right now. It represents a changing of the guard. Is Zverev ready to take over?

Zverev is coming off of a tough performance in Munich where he exited after dropping just his second match. While he is the third seed at the Madrid Open, the young German has dropped outside of the top three in the men’s singles rankings as of this week. Replacing him at world number three is none other than Roger Federer.

So far at the Madrid Open, Federer and the other top two players in the men’s singles rankings are winning. Zverev needs to keep up. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal both opened their tournaments with defiant wins. Zverev is the defending champion, but he is going up against the best the sport has ever seen at a time when he is looking to rediscover his footing on the ATP Tour. He cannot afford to drop his next match in Madrid.

Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal are all former champions. Plus, throw back to back runner-up finisher Dominic Thiem into the mix and Zverev has a seemingly endless amount of opponents. That doesn’t even include the likes of Kei Nishikori, Stan Wawrinka, Gael Monfils, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and others. The field is stacked and the defending champion is about to be tested in a major way.

Up next for Zverev at the Madrid Open is Polish tennis player Hubert Hurkacz. He is fresh off of a win over Lucas Pouille. Hurkacz will play the underdog against Zverev in the round of 16, but Zverev is vulnerable. This is an opportunity for the third seed to prove his critics wrong and put together another impressive win. Can he continue on at the Madrid Open? What do you think? Will he take the title in back to back years?