Alexander Zverev

[Kamileki]

RG21: 6. wielkoszlemowy ćwierćfinał.


tennisfreaks.net

[6] Alexander Zverev d. Kei Nishikori 6‑4 6‑1 6‑1

[Damian]

[Bombardiero]

[Bombardiero]

[Nando]

[Damian]

Zverev: 'I Was Putting Bricks On Myself'

Spoiler:

The German is one win from his second Grand Slam final
It is not long ago that Alexander Zverev struggled in Grand Slams, failing to reach the quarter-finals on his first 11 attempts. Now the German, who advanced to the Roland Garros semi-finals on Tuesday, has become a fixture deep in the majors. The sixth seed said that he has learned from his early-career mistakes.

“The Grand Slams are the tournaments that we want to win the most. Before maybe the past few years, I was putting too much pressure on myself,” Zverev said. “Before [Daniil] Medvedev and [Stefanos] Tsitsipas arrived, I was seen as this guy who was going to all of a sudden take over the tennis world. I was putting pressure on myself as well.

“I was not very patient with myself, which I feel like now maybe I learned how to deal with the situation a little bit better. I'm maybe a little bit calmer at the tournaments. But the end goal hasn't changed.”

You May Also Like: Zverev Races Into First Roland Garros Semi-final
It was not that Zverev was not playing well overall. He lifted three ATP Masters 1000 trophies before reaching his first major quarter-final.

“For a long period of time I was winning [ATP Masters 1000s], the [Nitto ATP] Finals, but I couldn't get quite deep in Grand Slams. I was putting bricks on myself,” Zverev said. “In a way I was not performing to the level that I was in other tournaments. I was not playing the same level. I was very impatient with myself.”

Since breaking through to the last eight at Roland Garros in 2018, Zverev has made it at least to the quarter-finals in six of his 12 Grand Slam appearances, including this tournament.

“Very rarely does anybody come in and all of a sudden perform his best at Grand Slams. Yes, we've seen Rafa do it, but Rafa is sometimes not human [with] what he's achieved,’ Zverev said of 13-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal. “I think for young guys it is a learning curve. Hopefully I can say that slowly but surely I'm starting to get the hang of it.”


Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
This year’s Madrid champion did not pay much attention that Nadal and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic are on the other half of the draw. Zverev paid respect to the likes of World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and the dangerous opponents he had to deal with.

“It’s nice that I didn't play Rafa or Novak in the quarter-finals,” Zverev said. “[But] I think playing Rafa here in the finals, for example, is even worse. It's even more difficult. But I also [need] to get there first.”

Zverev began this tournament down two sets in the first round against Oscar Otte. But now, he has a chance to reach his second Grand Slam final.

“I’m in the semi-finals of a Grand Slam and I’ve played solid so far. I know that the matches [from] the semi-finals on are not going to get easier,” Zverev said. “I think the opponents there are extremely difficult to beat, so I’ve got to play the same or raise my level even higher to have a chance.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/zverev- ... f-reaction

[Damian]

[Bombardiero]

[Damian]

ZVEREV: THE END GOAL HASN'T CHANGED

Spoiler:

Sixth seed cruises past Davidovich Fokina to reach maiden Roland-Garros semi-final

Alexander Zverev, Roland-Garros 2021 quarter-final
Clément Mahoudeau/FFT
Alexander Zverev has no problem hearing the names of his contemporaries Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas thrown into the conversations as heirs apparent in the Grand Slam hierarchy.

The German – who trounced Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for a Roland-Garros semi-final berth on Tuesday – found the chatter, if anything, relieved him of some of the pressure.


Far from content to hide in their shadows, however, the 24-year-old has laid down his challenge to whichever of the pair he meets in the last four.

"Obviously the Grand Slams are the tournaments that we want to win the most. Before, maybe the last few years, I was putting too much pressure on myself," Zverev said, following his 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 victory. "Also obviously in the media I was seen, before Medvedev and Tsitsipas arrived, I was seen as this guy that was going to all of a sudden take over the tennis world...

"I was not very patient with myself, which I feel like now maybe I learned how to deal with the situation a little bit better, I'm maybe a little bit calmer at the tournaments. But the end goal hasn't changed."

In a scrappy first set, which included seven breaks of serve, the sixth seed snuck it to seal the advantage over the 22-year-old, who had never advanced this far on such a stage.

Play Video
Davidovich Fokina had hoped to become just the second Spanish man other than Rafael Nadal to reach a Roland-Garros semi-final since 2005, after David Ferrer.

But the emotional and physical toll of his path to the second week had started to show.

Zverev – who had claimed both prior encounters between the two – only struck his first ace at 1-all in the second set as he nudged his first-serve percentage closer to 50 per cent, but from there it was smooth sailing.

He cantered home at the 96-minute mark against an ailing opponent, who conceded he was suffering a back complaint.

“After the first set I think my baseline game improved a lot. I started to dominate the points much more,” Zverev said on court. “In the beginning I didn't think I played that well. I think I can play better, hopefully.

Alexander Zverev, Roland-Garros 2021
©Clément Mahoudeau / FFT
“Obviously he's someone who's improved a lot over the past year and a half. He's climbing up the rankings very quickly. It's his first quarter-final of a Grand Slam and I'm pretty sure it's not his last.”

After he improved his five-set record at the majors to 4-0 with a nail-biting four-hour, 35-minute upset of in-form Norwegian Casper Ruud in the third round, Davidovich Fokina likened his mentality to that of a marathon runner.

Zverev could liken his to a high-jumper, having finally raised the bar on his Grand Slam record in the past year.

Rapid to rise the ranks on tour, but slow to hit his straps at the majors, the German had reached just one fourth round in 12 main draw attempts before he finally notched his maiden Grand Slam quarter-final. That came in Paris four years ago.


His first major semi-final followed at last year’s Australian Open, before he went one better, only to fall from two sets up to Dominic Thiem in the US Open final last September.

For the third time he has closed to within two victories.

"I'm in the semi-finals of a Grand Slam and I played solid so far," Zverev said. "I know that the matches [from] the semi-finals on are not going to get easier. I think the opponents there are extremely difficult to beat, so I got to play the same or raise my level even higher to have a chance.

"But I'm comfortable. I'm happy. We'll see how it is on Friday. But for now, it's great to be here."

The 46th-ranked Davidovich Fokina was the highest-ranked player Zverev had faced en route to the last four.

While the draw gods had been kind to him to this point, he knows he needs to lift a gear, whichever of the heirs apparent he meets next.

https://www.rolandgarros.com/en-us/arti ... ris-rg2021

[Kamileki]

RG21: 3. wielkoszlemowy półfinał.


aksam.com.tr

[6] Alexander Zverev d. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6‑4 6‑1 6‑1

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Kamileki]

[Damian]

[Damian]

Zverev: 'I'm Not Satisfied With A Great Match, I Want To Win'

Spoiler:

German star will next play in Halle
Alexander Zverev insists he won’t think about losing in the Roland Garros semi-finals on Friday for long, but the German couldn’t hide his disappointment at getting off to a slow start against Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Speaking after Tsitsipas reached his first Grand Slam final with a 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3 win, Zverev admitted, “I'm not at a stage anymore where great matches are something that I'm satisfied with. Today [means] nothing. I lost. I'm not in the final. Was it a good match? Yes. But at the end of the day, I'm going to fly home tomorrow. There's nothing positive about that.

“I don't particularly care about [reaching the] semi-finals. [It] might sound bad in a way or [it] might sound arrogant. I'm not trying to be arrogant. I'm just saying it how it is. I wouldn't have cared about a final either, to be honest. I didn't win the tournament. Wimbledon is in two weeks' time and I'm looking forward to that."

You May Also Like: Tsitsipas Reaches First Major Final, Beats Zverev In Five Sets
Sixth seed Zverev led 3-0 in the second set, but fifth seed Tsitsipas went on to win the next seven games. A strong service performance aided his comeback and the World No. 6 had Tsitsipas at 0/40 in the first game of the fifth set.

“I started to play proper tennis in the third set,” said Zverev. “Against someone like Stefanos, it might be too late. Today, if I broke him in the first game of the fifth set, maybe the outcome would be different. [But] I didn't. I can't go down two-sets-to-love against a top player like Stefanos and expect to win every single time.”

The 24-year-old Zverev, who beat Rafael Nadal en route to the Mutua Madrid Open title (d. Berrettini) in May, dropped to a 23-9 match record on the season after his sixth loss in eight ATP Head2Head meetings against Tsitsipas. He is currently in fourth position in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin and looks to be on track to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held from 14-21 November.

“Today, during this tournament [and] during the whole clay court season, I felt like I was playing well,” said Zverev. “I was playing well enough to go deep. But at the end of the day, coming out of the match and playing the first two sets like I did… yes, you can win the match, but it makes it extremely difficult.

“I almost did it, but I [have] got to start better. When I come into these matches, I [have] got to be a hundred per cent from the first point.”

Zverev will next compete at the NOVENTI OPEN in Halle, which begins on Monday.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/zverev- ... 021-friday

[Bombardiero]

[Kamileki]

[Bombardiero]

[Nando]

[Damian]