ZVEREV SPOKE ABOUT EVERYTHING

ATP 250 ARGENTINA OPEN. By Leo Canaparo
Alexander Zverev, world No. 2 in the ATP rankings, is in Buenos Aires for the first time.

“The reason I came is because I had never done it before. I always wanted to visit and play the South American tour. I’ve heard and seen great things over the years, and as you know, one of my goals is to win Roland Garros, so I want to play on clay as much as possible,” said the German. He also added, “I want to keep believing that I’m good enough to win a Grand Slam.”

Regarding his three lost Grand Slam finals, he commented:
“I think I faced great players in those finals. When I lost at the US Open [Editor’s note: against Dominic Thiem in 2020, 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (6)], it was because mentally, I wasn’t ready for it. But I think the last two finals were very good matches. Against Carlos (Alcaraz at Roland Garros 2024), I was up two sets to one—it was a very, very close match [Editor’s note: Alcaraz won 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2]. Then, Jannik (Sinner) has been on another level on hard courts for the last 18 months. In that final, he was simply better than me. That’s the reality. I feel closer than ever, and I truly believe I can achieve it this year.”

Sascha, as Zverev is known, is coached by his father, Alexander Sr., and is also accompanied by his older brother and former tennis player, Mischa. A fun fact for tennis historians: his father, the current world No. 2’s coach, played in Buenos Aires on these very same courts almost 40 years ago. He was part of the Soviet Union (USSR) team in a Davis Cup playoff series in October 1985, where the visiting team won 3-2. “He told me that he won the doubles match against the director of this tournament (Martín Jaite). They met again, hugged, and reminisced about old times. My father has told me many stories about how the crowd behaved during those matches. Of course, it was the Davis Cup, so naturally, everyone was cheering for Argentina. They were all against him and rooting for the Argentinians. I hope this time it will be different, and I’ll have some fans here.”