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ROGERS CUP

August 8, 2017

Alexander Zverev

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You've just won Washington. Obviously you won four titles this season. An incredible season for you. Are you a bit surprised about how much this has been a good season?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I think 'surprised' is the wrong word. I know how much I've done in the off-season. I know how much work I've put in with my whole team.

Obviously the Rome title was a big one. I didn't expect it. You know, I knew that I could beat the best players in the world, and I've shown that over several weeks this year. I'm happy where I am.

But the season doesn't stop now. It's only August. There's still a lot more tennis ahead of us, and we'll see where I can be at the end of the season.

Q. A lot of Canadians are supporting the hometown favorite, Milos Raonic, who you had an epic match with at Wimbledon. Can you talk about that match and moving ahead?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: It was a great match. I think I had a few very tough five-setters this year, against Nadal in Australia, and against Milos in Wimbledon.

Against Milos, I felt like I really could have won that match. I had, I don't know, 17, 18 breakpoints, something like that, only used three.

That was a tough loss for me because I really felt like I could do so well at Wimbledon. I felt like over the most period of that match, I felt like I was playing better and I had more chances.

But, you know, Milos has been top 10 for a while now for a reason. Well done to him, and hopefully he can do well in front of the home crowd, as well.

Q. You mentioned you worked really hard in the off-season. Which aspect of your game or physique did you work on? Physical side or tactical side?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Over the past three years I always ended my season early to work on the physical. I've always done a month where I haven't even touched the racquet. I've only done physical training two times a day. That I improved a lot. I put on about 10 kilos of muscles over the last three years.

I think that improved a lot. It gives me a chance to compete and to beat the best players in the world in big tournaments. I think that was my main goal for the past three off-seasons.

Q. A lot of people seem to label you as the next one, a player of the future. Where do you think you stand compared with the so-called big four on the circuit?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: No, I mean, I'm still behind them. I think me and Dominic are still both behind. They've won slams, so that's why they're there. They won so much in the past few years.

I think Roger and Rafa, they're still winning most of the tournaments this year. They won all the Grand Slams, all the Masters apart from one. I was the only one who could win a Masters this year. That shows how dominant they still are.

But, you know, we both are working quite hard to get there, and hopefully take over their places at some point.

Q. How do you get to that level? What's missing? Dominic seems to think you're not too far away from these guys, but there's something, I don't know what it is.
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: No, I mean, we're not too far away. I think both of us have shown that. We've won big tournaments this year.

I've had and Dominic had great matches in five sets against those kind of guys. He beat Novak in Paris. I lost to Nadal in five sets in Australia. That shows we're not far away.

There's little things. In important moments maybe they do stuff better. Maybe they're experienced, as well. They've been on tour, you know, Rafa 12 years, Roger, whatever, 16, 17 years. That has an influence on it, as well.

Q. Here Federer and Nadal are seeded 1 and 2, you and Dominic 3 and 4. The director of the tournament was talking about a clash of the generations. What do you think about this interesting twist of events?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: As I said, I think tennis has a very interesting time right now and ahead of it with a lot of the now guys are still playing at the highest level and us coming through. Me and Dominic, we're No. 7 and 8 in the world, we're doing well this season. Roger and Rafa will most likely finish No. 1 and 2 in the world. It still shows they're playing on such a high level.

But, I mean, if we get to the semifinals, and I play Rafa, and Dominic plays Roger, it is going to be an interesting matchup. We'll see what generation can win that.

Q. A lot of people and players are labeling you as the next No. 1. How do you deal with that pressure at a young age?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I mean, I said it many times before: I try not to listen to it too much. I have my team around me. I have important people around me that I listen to. This is a very small group of guys.

But it's always nice to hear stuff from Roger and from Rafa, that they think I can become the world No. 1. They know what it takes. A lot of journalists say, He might be a world No. 1, he might be a Grand Slam champion. But coming from fellow tennis players, it's something that I see as more value because they know how to do it.

I think they always mention that me and Dominic might be the next two guys. But we both know that we still have a lot of hard work ahead of us. There's other young guys that are coming through, as well.

We'll see what the future holds for all of us.

Q. Have you had a chance to enjoy Montreal?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: No, I didn't have much time. This is actually the second time for me in Montreal. First time was for a junior tournament. But I didn't have much time because I came late from Washington. I had to focus on playing matches here again, practicing.

So far I didn't have time, but hopefully I will.

Q. Talk of the majors is on the horizon with yourself. If you believe you could win a major, would you focus on one in particular that you have a better chance at?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: No, because I feel like I can play on all surfaces. I've been to two finals or won tournaments on every single surface. I don't feel like I have to focus on one, like some players do French Open or Wimbledon, something like that. I feel like I have good chances on all of them.

But as I said, the other guys are still dominating those tournaments. I know that I still have to get a lot better to be able to win a major.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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