German Davis Cup captain reacts to unfortunate Alexander Zverev injury

09/14/2022 09:20 AM

German Davis Cup team captain Michael Kohlmann acknowledged that losing Alexander Zverev is certainly a big blow for the team, but added he feels they still have a quality team.  Zverev, who hasn't played since tearing several ankle ligaments at the French Open, was scheduled to return to action this week by representing Germany in the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals. On Monday, Zverev held a press conference, in which he announced that he had sustained a bone edema.  “If you lose one of the best players in the world from your team then it is a big blow, absolutely,” Kohlmann told the Davis Cup Finals website. “But we had this situation in the past and last year we had pretty good success with a similar team. I still believe we are good enough and strong enough to go to the next round.” Kohlmann disappointed but thinks Germany can do well without Zverev Following the Zverev withdrawal, Germany added Yannick Hanfmann to their team.  Besides Hanfmann, Germany will also be represented by Oscar Otte, Jan-Lennard Struff and doubles specialists Tim Puetz and Kevin Krawietz. In Hamburg, Germany will be taking on Australia, France and Belgium.  After withdrawing from the Davis Cup Finals, Zverev voiced his disappointment.  "I am very disappointed to miss out on playing this week,” Zverev said. “It was a massive goal for me to play here because it is my hometown and I know the stadium very well – I had my first big success here back in 2014 [reaching the semi-finals of the Hamburg Open], so I am very disappointed. But there is nothing I can do about it. I have a bone edema issue, which causes me quite a lot of pain." It remains to be seen if Germany can finish in the top-2 and reach the Davis Cup Finals knockout phase. Also, it will be interesting to see Zverev manages to return before the season ends.