	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA

May 13, 2019

Alexander Zverev

Rome, Italy

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I think we said after your match in Madrid, you feel like week by week things are getting better. Coming into here, another start at a tournament, do you see a light at the end of the tunnel?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: That's exactly how I feel. As I said in the beginning of the clay court season, as well, I will need some time, I will need some matches. Every tournament I played so far on clay is getting better and better.

Madrid I was very close to playing my best. I think the match with Tsitsipas I could have won in two sets. I didn't. In the beginning of the third, we had this long game at 1-All where I had the three breakpoints. After that, I lost a game, then I went downhill a little bit.

This is also confidence level. Obviously he's won a lot of matches, I didn't this year. I think that was part of the reason. But I win this match, then who knows what will happen in the end of the tournament.

I think in Madrid I was close. I think, as I said, every week is going to get better for me.

Q. Talk about the moment in the doubles, that nice gesture.
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I obviously hit her with an overhead, which is not on purpose. I saw she was a little bit sad, I mean, crying. Yeah, I mean, I thought that was the right thing to do, to give her a little present, cheer her up. I hope it made her day kind of.

Q. Lendl is not here with you. How is your relationship with him grown so far, how is the relationship with him?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I answer this every week. I'm sure you guys will figure it out. The press conference in Madrid, Munich, Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, Miami. Every week.

Q. You mentioned also having to do a lot more duties without having a manager. What have you found most challenging or surprising about sort of learning all the business that goes into Sascha Zverev, Inc.?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I am a young guy that is trying to build a brand as well. It's not even the difficult things or something. It's just time consuming. It's energy consuming. Obviously you have to deal with a lot of different things. I have to deal with lawyers, as well. I have to deal with obviously management stuff because I don't have anyone. I have to kind of do it myself right now.

Last year, the reason why I was playing so good, all I was doing was playing tennis. Everything else was taken care for me. I was going to bed, I was waking up, thinking about how practice was, after practice I was thinking about what to eat, then practice again, go to bed.

Now it's more like I have to wake up, I have to think about, okay, I got this and this email, I have to respond to this and this person, I have to make a phone call, do that, then I have to practice. It's a lot more things.

I think a big reason why also, I mean, I didn't play my best so far this year was because I'm still young and I had to figure out how to do that. I had to figure out what comes with that.

I mean, let's be honest, the last few years I was playing tennis, but I was still living a life where everything was taken care of for me. Now I kind of took over and do everything myself.

It's a learning experience. But I think once you go through that, like I am now, you'll come out much stronger and much better.

Q. You spoke last week in Madrid about certain moments you want to play more aggressive. What does that kind of look like?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, as I said in Madrid, the Tsitsipas match, I found it was much, much better. I played much more aggressive in those moments. Actually all three matches I played okay.

Again, the breakpoints that are lost, I lost them. He obviously did a good job. I lost them because I wasn't playing aggressive. Those are the moments where I need my confidence back, get my aggressive game style back, not be scared to miss.

Yeah, this I'm slowly starting to get back. As I said, it's getting better and better every tournament. Yeah, I think it's going to be better here, as well.

Q. On the manager, are you able to hire someone?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: No.

Q. You're in a position where you're not? You have to go it alone for the future?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: For now, yes.

Q. Do you know how long that will last?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I hope not that long. It's not only in my hands. Somebody is trying to be difficult right now (smiling).

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297