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ROGERS CUP

August 13, 2017

Alexander Zverev

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

A. ZVEREV/R. Federer

6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: With this win, Sascha becomes the first German to win here since Boris Becker in 1986. He is also the first German to win five titles on the ATP World Tour since Becker in 1996. He is also the youngest to win the Rogers Cup since Novak Djokovic in 2007.

We'll take questions.

Q. This year you've beaten now Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka. Do you feel like now you are part of that elite group?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: No, I don't think I'm part of the big four because they've won too much in the history of tennis. They won too many Grand Slams.

I'm No. 7 in the world now, I think. So, you know, I'm getting up the rankings. I think I'm part of the top 10 now, that's for sure.

Obviously winning two Masters 1000 titles in the same year is something amazing. So, yeah, hopefully I can win as much as they did in their careers one day.

Q. About 10 days ago...
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: You need to shave, buddy (laughter). It's not a good look.

Q. Maybe you will like what I am going to say, though. Before the draw came out, I told everyone you were going to win this tournament.
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Thanks. Then you don't need to shave. That's fine (laughter).

Q. Thanks for fulfilling my prediction. How confident are you now that you've won Washington, Montreal going to Cincinnati and the US Open?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: No, I mean, I played well winning Washington and here. It's something amazing, back-to-back weeks. I feel great. I feel like I'm playing one of the best tennis of my life.

But, you know, Cincinnati is a very tough draw. I don't know if I will be able to go far there because I am a little bit tired.

But game-wise and confidence-wise, I'm super happy the way everything is standing.

Q. Federer said yesterday maybe one of the reasons why he was still on tour was to be able to play against players of the new generation. He once played against Agassi when he was younger. Federer, and all these players, Nadal, are they your Agassis?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, that was a little bit before my time.

I'm sure for him playing against someone like Agassi or Sampras was the same kind of special feeling like it is for me playing against him. It's always super nice to be on court with him, against him. It's something very special. Doing so in the final of a Masters is even more special. Winning this match was amazing. I'm really happy about it.

But, you know, as you guys all said, there's Cincinnati now, a Masters 1000 coming up, starting tomorrow. I got to regroup and refocus and try to do well there, as well.

Q. You mentioned a few days ago your meteoric rise up the rankings almost seems a little too fast, given the amount of time you've been on the tour. When will it feel as if it's not too fast? Will it take winning a Grand Slam?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I mean, the faster the better for me actually. I don't mind that I'm winning tournaments. I don't think anybody would.

But, I mean, I feel fine. I am in the top 10 now since Rome. I've been outside of it for a few weeks, but I'm back in it.

I feel like I'm playing the right tennis, well enough tennis to be there. I don't feel like things are going unnatural. I think, like, everything is going pretty natural.

Obviously winning the two Masters 1000 events, everybody would be proud of that, and nobody could expect, but I'm happy that it happened.

Q. How much of an impact has bringing Ferrero onboard had in the last few weeks and your performance so far?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: No, I think we tried to work on my aggressive game a lot. We tried to improve all the little things. Obviously mentally. He knows how it feels like to play the big matches, so that helps a lot, having someone to talk to in these kind of situations.

So far we never lost together. I'll hope it can continue like this. I know it most likely won't, if this relationship lasts for a few years. But so far everything is going great.

Q. Did you have certain goals prior to this season? During the off-season do you plan to have a certain number of tournament wins? How does the rest of your year look in terms of predicting what happens after that?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Making Milan was my goal. No (smiling).

I think making London was one of my biggest goals, which I'm in a good position to do so now. But obviously I've got to keep playing the way I'm playing, keep improving, keep trying to win tournaments.

Obviously we have big tournaments coming up still. We have another Grand Slam, a few Masters 1000 events. Hopefully I can continue doing so, then we'll see where I will be at the end of the season.

Q. Were you aware of something possibly ailing Roger either at the end of the first set or the beginning of the second set? The velocity was way off on his first serve. Is that something you noticed and were trying to exploit?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Obviously I noticed it. At the score of 2-All, I think his first serve got a little bit slower. You got to ask him what happened there. I don't know. But yeah, I mean, I definitely noticed it.

Q. You spoke about needing to serve better than you did in the semifinals in the final. You were 69% on your first serve. Is this the best you think you've served in your career? And what made you decide to be a bit more aggressive on your second serve in this match?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: No, I mean, I don't think it was the best I served in my career. But it was definitely a good serving day.

My second serve, I try to be aggressive as well, try to put some pressure on that, not that he feels comfortable, is going to start being the one who is aggressive in the rally. When he is, you don't have a lot of chance of winning the match. That I tried to focus on. Obviously it worked.

But, yeah, I definitely served better than the last few days.

Q. Yesterday you talked about nerves coming into play right at the end of the match against Denis. Today it looked like you were in control start to finish. How did you manage to keep those nerves away in this huge match? Do you agree with that assessment?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, I mean, yesterday I played someone who is two years younger. I haven't done that in my career so far. That was something new for me. Obviously I had nerves today, which I had better under control than yesterday.

I thought yesterday was a very tight match. Could have gone both ways. I felt like I didn't play as well as I did today. I didn't feel like I had a lot of shots under control.

When I'm playing really well, when I'm feeling the ball really well, I feel like those nerves go away because I just know what I'm doing.

Yesterday obviously I played well, but nowhere near as what I did today.

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