Alexander Zverev seemingly got really fed up with being asked to draw comparisons between his past and current level as the German bluntly stated that him being the fifth-ranked player in the world and making deep runs on the biggest stage pretty much tells everything that one needs to know about where he is at right now.
Zverev, 26, was playing some of the best tennis of his career in the spring of 2022 and he was two wins away from becoming a Grand Slam champion when a devastating injury happened. During the 2022 clay season, Zverev finished as runner-up at the Madrid Masters – was a semifinalist at the Masters events in Monte Carlo and Rome – and he also made the French Open semifinal.
In that French Open semifinal match, Zverev was competing extremely well against Nadal and there wasn’t much separating the two but then the German slipped late in the second set and tore several ankle ligaments. It was an absolutely crushing and devastating end to Zverev’s 2022 French Open run, who had been looking great and extremely confident that he could win it all at Roland Garros.
Since returning at the start of the 2023 season, Zverev has won two titles – made two Grand Slam semifinals – and returned to No. 5 in the world. Before this week’s Monte Carlo Masters, Zverev was a semifinalist at the Miami Masters and he also reached the Indian Wells Masters quarterfinal in mid-March.
“I’m tired of this question to be honest, because I get this question so many times. I think winning these kind of tournaments, that’s when you’re back at your best, but also at the same time, I’m number five in the world,” Zverev said.
“So to be honest, I don’t think you’re playing bad tennis when you’re at number five in the world. So, I think, I’m on a good way. I’m getting to later stage of the big tournaments more consistently, I feel like, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Alexander Zverev © Getty Images Sport – Elsa
Zverev previously addressed this topic during the Australian Open
At the start of the 2024 season, Zverev managed to upset Carlos Alcaraz 6-1 6-3 6-7 (2) 6-4 in the Australian Open quarterfinal. Going into the match, Zverev wasn’t really given much of a chance to beat Alcaraz but he managed to do exactly that.
After the match, Zverev admitted the win against two-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz meant a lot to him considering everything he had gone through. That’s when Zverev also admitted that it took some time to get rid of some things that were holding him back after his serious injury sustained in mid-2022.
“Obviously a lot, especially after the injury, I think it did hold me back in a way. You know, I was kind of on top of my game before the injury happened, you know. I was at my best level so far in my career,” Zverev said after beating Alcaraz at the Australian Open.
“I’m obviously extremely happy to be back where I am and winning these kind of matches, and, you know, giving myself the chance again. Because last year, for the first part of the season, or actually throughout the year, I wasn’t a slam contender. I wasn’t a contender to win tournaments like that.
“If I am now, I’m very happy about that.”
Alexander Zverev © Getty Images Sport – Darrian Traynor
Zverev reveals an aspect in which he matured
Zverev, who is set to celebrate his 27th birthday on April 20, is not anymore one of the youngest players on the Tour and he can now pretty much be considered a veteran on the Tour considering that he has been playing at the highest level for nearly a decade now.
During the Miami Open – where he made the semifinal for the first time since winning the tournament in 2018 – Zverev was told that he was now looking more relaxed and composed in the key moments and when the time comes for him to close out a match.
“You get older; it’s as simple as that. It’s about maturing, it’s about realizing that if you have done everything you can in preparation, if you have done everything you can outside the court, if you lift kind of in a correct way, then even if you lose, that’s okay, because you feel like you have done everything you can,” Zverev said.
“So it took me maybe more years than others for me to realize that. It maybe took me some more maturing than others as well. But as I said, we all get older, all hopefully get smarter. Some of us do; some of us don’t. I hope I’m one of those that does (smiling). That’s maybe it.”
Alexander Zverev © Getty Images Sport – Clive Brunskill
This week, Zverev is starting the clay season at the Monte Carlo, where defeated Sebastian Ofner in his opener to set up a round-of-16 meeting against either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
In the past, Zverev made the semifinals in Monte Carlo in 2018 and 2022.
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