Zverev on Djokovic's withdrawal: "I wasn't expecting it".

Alexander Zverev has qualified for his third Grand Slam final in a third different tournament.

After the US Open in 2020 and Roland Garros in 2023, the German took advantage of Novak Djokovic's withdrawal after suffering a leg injury to reach the Australian Open final after winning the first set.

Speaking at the press conference, the world number 2 reflected on the unexpected turn of events: "I wasn't expecting it.

I was under the impression that we'd just played a very high-level first set. But with a muscle injury...

I mean, after the first set, he knew that, to beat me, he was going to have to fight for at least three more hours.

It's very complicated with a muscle tear or injury to be able to continue playing at high intensity, because it doesn't get any better.

And in the worst-case scenario, it gets worse. Maybe that's what happened to us. It's not as if he'd withdrawn and I'd had four days without playing.

It would have been like starting another tournament, and you don't want to feel like that before a final. But that's just the way it is.

Obviously, I didn't want this to happen, but it did. Above all, I'm happy to be back in a Grand Slam final and to have another opportunity to win a major title.

Is it going the way I'd hoped? Of course not. That's how it is in sport. I've been in this situation myself, and at Roland Garros I probably injured myself more seriously.

That's sport. Life goes on," Zverev assured L'Équipe.