German left-hander shocked world No 1 in Melbourne
Tuesday 24 January 2017 09:52, UK
After Andy Murray's hopes of finally getting his hands on the Australian Open title were ended for another year, we ask who is giant-killer Mischa Zverev?
Zverev was in the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time after a career ravaged by injury, but flummoxed Murray with his unorthodox serve-volley game. He broke the two-time Wimbledon and Olympic champion eight times over the contest to win 7-5 5-7 6-2 6-4.
The world No 50 was helped by a below-par performance from Murray but thoroughly deserved his victory over three and a half hours on Rod Laver Arena, which earned him a quarter-final meeting with 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer.
Zverev's career-high performance against the world No 1 has come after a long journey which has seen him virtually give up the sport he loves.
The 29-year-old is the son of former pro Alexander Zverev Sr, who is also his coach, while his mother, Irena, is also a former player and a tennis coach.
His brother, Alexander, is a man in a hurry on the circuit and is the youngest player in the ATP top 50 aged just 19.
Multiple Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal has said that Alexander, nicknamed Sascha, is "the future of our sport and the present too" after the Spaniard put him out of the Australian Open during a pulsating five-set win on Saturday.
But it is Mischa who has put the Zverev name on the tennis map having previously come close to quitting the sport. Two years ago he was outside the Top 1000. He was coaching whilst training for a pilot's licence. But his brother Sasha gave him the motivation to get back into tennis and he is now reaping the rewards.
He impressed in the junior ranks, reaching No 3 in the world and lost to Murray in the semi-finals of the US Open in 2004.
After finishing his junior career with a 123-50 win/loss record, he made his first ATP Tour-level quarter-final as a pro in 2006, losing to Marat Safin in Bangkok.
At the 2008 Australian Open he almost upset 11th seed Tommy Robredo in the first round after winning the first two sets before losing in five.
He went on to reach the third round of Wimbledon that summer, which was his best performance at a major up until his display at Melbourne Park this year.
Zverev reached a career-high No 45 in June 2009 and finished 2010 as world No 82 before a slump in form and confidence. But he has suddenly burst back on to the scene over the last couple of years, climbing from 1067 in March 2015 to his current ranking.
In 2016, he enjoyed his best run of results, losing to Richard Gasquet in the last eight of Shenzhen before being beaten by Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters. He suffered more heartbreak in Basel when he missed out on reaching his first Tour final to Marin Cilic.
The German had lost to Murray, in 2015, 6-2 6-2, but his victory against the best player in world tennis on Sunday represents the most significant result of his career to date.
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