Spoiler:
Winner of 16 of past 18 matches, focuses on first round
Alexander Zverev may have won two titles and compiled a 14-match winning streak during the clay swing, to rank as one of the hottest talents on red dirt this year, but he isn’t leaving anything to chance on his third appearance at Roland Garros.
The German entered the clay-court major last year on the back of winning the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown, but lost in the first round to Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.
“I've played good tennis in the clay-court season so far, and I know that I'm able to do so hopefully here, as well,” said Zverev, in Paris, on Friday. “But, I just want to go match by match and see how the tournament goes and we'll see who will play his best tennis here.
“I'm not trying to think ahead. I have done that before in Grand Slams, and I lost early. I'm going to try to avoid that. I'm going to try to prepare myself the best I can and play the best tennis I can. The rest will take care of itself.”
Zverev, who will play Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis in the first round next week, features in the bottom quarter that includes 2015 titlist Stan Wawrinka, two-time semi-finalist Dominic Thiem and Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters runner-up Kei Nishikori.
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“If I lose to somebody that plays better than me on that day, and I have done everything right and I have played great tennis during the day and I lost, that's okay, as well, because it happens. Sometimes other players are better than you.
"But I know that right now it's more about preparing yourself for the long match, preparing yourself for the best tennis that you might play here.”
In his 11 previous Grand Slam championship appearances, Zverev has only reached the fourth round once at Wimbledon in 2017.
“This is a long tournament with a lot of hard matches,” said Zverev, the second seed. “I'm not trying to think that I'm going to play Rafa in the final. That's not how I'm thinking. I'm thinking about every single match. I'm thinking about how to beat Berankis in the first round. That's my thought process right now.”
The 21-year-old Zverev has put together an ATP World Tour-high 30 match wins this year (30-8), which includes two titles from four finals. He’s won 16 of his past 18 matches, including back-to-back triumphs at the BMW Open by FWU (d. Kohlschreiber) and the Mutua Madrid Open (d. Thiem).
“It's obviously been a fantastic clay court season for me,” said Zverev on Friday. “Winning so many matches in a row, as well, over a period of Munich, Madrid, and Rome (l. to Nadal), was great coming in here.
“Obviously, there is a lot of other great players playing here, Rafa, Novak, and everybody. They are all getting on top of their game. I think this is going to be a very interesting tournament.”
Michael Stich remains the only German in the Open Era (since April 1968) to have reached the Roland Garros final. Stich was beaten by former World No. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the 1996 title match.
Alexander Zverev may have won two titles and compiled a 14-match winning streak during the clay swing, to rank as one of the hottest talents on red dirt this year, but he isn’t leaving anything to chance on his third appearance at Roland Garros.
The German entered the clay-court major last year on the back of winning the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown, but lost in the first round to Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.
“I've played good tennis in the clay-court season so far, and I know that I'm able to do so hopefully here, as well,” said Zverev, in Paris, on Friday. “But, I just want to go match by match and see how the tournament goes and we'll see who will play his best tennis here.
“I'm not trying to think ahead. I have done that before in Grand Slams, and I lost early. I'm going to try to avoid that. I'm going to try to prepare myself the best I can and play the best tennis I can. The rest will take care of itself.”
Zverev, who will play Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis in the first round next week, features in the bottom quarter that includes 2015 titlist Stan Wawrinka, two-time semi-finalist Dominic Thiem and Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters runner-up Kei Nishikori.
You May Also Like: Nadal Learns Roland Garros Draw, Bottom Half Loaded
“If I lose to somebody that plays better than me on that day, and I have done everything right and I have played great tennis during the day and I lost, that's okay, as well, because it happens. Sometimes other players are better than you.
"But I know that right now it's more about preparing yourself for the long match, preparing yourself for the best tennis that you might play here.”
In his 11 previous Grand Slam championship appearances, Zverev has only reached the fourth round once at Wimbledon in 2017.
“This is a long tournament with a lot of hard matches,” said Zverev, the second seed. “I'm not trying to think that I'm going to play Rafa in the final. That's not how I'm thinking. I'm thinking about every single match. I'm thinking about how to beat Berankis in the first round. That's my thought process right now.”
The 21-year-old Zverev has put together an ATP World Tour-high 30 match wins this year (30-8), which includes two titles from four finals. He’s won 16 of his past 18 matches, including back-to-back triumphs at the BMW Open by FWU (d. Kohlschreiber) and the Mutua Madrid Open (d. Thiem).
“It's obviously been a fantastic clay court season for me,” said Zverev on Friday. “Winning so many matches in a row, as well, over a period of Munich, Madrid, and Rome (l. to Nadal), was great coming in here.
“Obviously, there is a lot of other great players playing here, Rafa, Novak, and everybody. They are all getting on top of their game. I think this is going to be a very interesting tournament.”
Michael Stich remains the only German in the Open Era (since April 1968) to have reached the Roland Garros final. Stich was beaten by former World No. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the 1996 title match.
