Zverev: "There are two ways to come back from difficult situations".

Guillaume Nonque

le 08/06/2024 à 18h53

2 min to read

Alcaraz Nadal Roland Garros Thiem Zverev

At the age of 27, Alexander Zverev has already enjoyed a long career spanning 11 years as a professional tennis player. He has already experienced some difficult moments, two of which have particularly marked him. But he doesn't see them as handicaps.

On the contrary, the way in which he managed to overcome them is now his strength. A strength he hopes to use to finally win his first Grand Slam title against Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros this Sunday. That's what he told us in a press conference.

Alexander Zverev: "There were two ways to come back from the two difficult situations I experienced. The first situation was the US Open final in 2020 (losing to Dominic Thiem after leading 2 sets to 0 and 5-3 in the 5th set) and the second was the injury I suffered two years ago (huge ankle sprain against Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals of Roland Garros 2022).

Either, you come back stronger and hungrier. You come back wanting to win even more. That's what I feel I did in 2021, when I had my best season yet. I didn't win a Grand Slam, but I had opportunities. I won the gold medal (at the Tokyo Olympics), I was the player to win the most titles that year.

Either you close in on yourself, or you fall apart a bit mentally too. And I'm glad I was the kind of person who took the first option. I want to give myself the best chance and that's what I'm doing. And at the end of the day, we'll see how it goes on Sunday."