Zverev: "It was a tough South American tour for me"

Alexander Zverev was present at a press conference ahead of the Indian Wells Masters 1000.

He reflected on his tour in South America in Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires, where he was eliminated early.

"It was a tough South American tour for me. I was sick for two of the three weeks, which is not good.

I wanted to go on clay, I wanted to play this tour. I had heard very good things about it, so I wanted to experience it once.

Buenos Aires was not lucky for me because I had food poisoning.

In Rio, it was very, very hot, very humid. I think overall the conditions were tough.

I also didn't play very good tennis. Maybe it wasn't the right choice in the end, especially after reaching the final of the Australian Open.

Maybe I should have stayed a bit longer on hard courts, but I wanted to play on clay and find my game as early as possible.

If you look at my record, I can play well on clay, that's for sure, but usually the first two or three weeks, I play poorly and lose...

I mean, I don't win tournaments. I don't play very good tennis. I wanted to find my rhythm on this surface and better prepare for Roland Garros."

For his opening match at Indian Wells, Zverev will face Tallon Griekspoor.