WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN

August 22, 2021

Alexander Zverev

Press Conference

A. ZVEREV/A. Rublev

6-2, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Congratulations on the win, on the title, the amazing week. Pretty fast match, 59 minutes. Wondering your thoughts on the big win today against Andrey.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, obviously I felt well from the beginning. Broke him the first game, and I think then the match went my way, I have to say, quite a lot and quite fast.

Obviously very happy with that, because Andrey, once he gets the rhythm, once he gets going in a match, he's a very dangerous player and can beat anybody. He showed that yesterday. Obviously very happy with how things went.

Q. Now what can you take from this big week going forward to the US Open where you came, oh, so close to getting that title?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, I mean, the US Open is a week that everybody is looking forward to. I think Novak will be back. He's obviously going to be the favorite, as well. But I think other guys are going to be in great shape.

I'm looking forward to the week. Let's see how it goes. But there is still one week to go. I still have a lot of work ahead of me. I have to find my rhythm in New York, as well, and, yeah, I'm looking forward to the US Open.

Q. Congratulations for the trophy. This title is the fifth you have won in this category, Masters, and you are the fifth active player with the most trophies in this category. Above you there are only Roger, Rafa, Murray, and Novak. What does it mean for you to be among these players?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Well, I mean, but they have a lot more than me. We have to also say that. Yeah, I mean, they're great players. I think the three of them are the greatest of all time. Obviously they are not finished yet. They are all going to still be playing tennis. I think they are going to be competing for the biggest titles, as well.

Yeah, I'm very happy. I'm very happy with how the week went. I'm extremely, you know, happy with how my tennis went. But I also have to focus and look forward to next few weeks, as well.

Q. In the semifinal, you, Rublev, Medvedev, and Tsitsipas compete. With Federer, Nadal, Murray, and Djokovic maybe in the last years, are you the new big four?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I mean, we have to see. The other guys are still there, right? I mean, Novak is still World No. 1. Let's not forget that. Rafa is still top 10, as well. They are still there. I think after the injury comeback, they're going to come back even stronger.

But we'll see. I think tennis is in a good spot, I would say, because the other guys are still there. Novak is still at top of his game, but the young guys all look quite strong. It's going to be interesting to see who will do what in the next few years.

Q. Looking ahead at the US Open, based on the information that you have been provided, do you believe this is going to be the first normal, quote unquote, Grand Slam tournament that we are going to play in two years? Do you believe that the restrictions, if there are any, are going to be a kind of negligible so that you're going to behave as you are used to until Australia 2020?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Australia 2020 I think was the last one where we behaved completely normal.

I mean, I hope so. I mean, obviously, look, this week has been incredible already. I think it's been incredible success. If I'm correct, I think no players were tested positive with a full crowd.

So it does show that sports can go back to normal hopefully soon, and I think it's very important to have the spectators there.

Look, I mean, we go find out. We will find out how the week goes. I am very happy that there is going to be spectators. I'm very happy that we're gonna play not in empty stadiums, because obviously I was very happy that we played the US Open last year, but it was also, at the same time, it was a weird feeling playing the US Open final with nobody there, especially the match that we had with Dominic.

But, yeah, I'm looking forward to it. I think we are looking forward as players, the organization is looking forward to it, and the spectators, as well. Then we will find out how it goes.

Q. Congrats on a great week. I was curious, it doesn't happen all that often where a player wins a gold medal and they're able to successfully back it up with a win here at the Western & Southern Open. I was wondering what that process was like going from Tokyo to Cincinnati and being able to get it done in both places.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, I mean, obviously I went back to Germany. I think a lot of people saw that on my Instagram and all that. I was in a lot of different cities there and all that.

But then I went back to work. I went back to practice in Monaco. I was preparing for this tournament. I'm very happy to have this trophy now, because that showed us (audio disruption).

Q. Congratulations. You're on quite the run here now on hard courts, and US Open is obviously the focus. Should it play out, obviously there is a lot that can happen in the draw, but you must feel pretty good now about being arguably the best placed to really shake up Novak's bid for the calendar year Grand Slam?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, but as I said before, I do think that he's still the favorite. I do think he's going to be playing incredible tennis there. He's going to be fresh, and I think there is also other guys that are in very good form. I think Rublev is in very good form, Medvedev, Tsitsipas, all those guys are playing great tennis.

It's definitely going to be an interesting US Open. But I'm also looking forward to it, because, yeah, I know where I stand, I know how I'm playing, and I hope I can continue the work and hopefully play even better in New York.

Q. How did you feel about this match? I mean, it was almost as if you were untouchable. And also, during a match, does it register with you that you haven't lost a point on serve, as was the case in the first set, until you actually came to serve for the set?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: No, I didn't know that, but I did feel comfortable on the court from the beginning. Obviously breaking him in the beginning, that did help for me, because the match kind of went my way after that.

And, yeah, I mean, look, he's an incredible player. Once he gets into a rhythm, once he gets into a match, he's extremely difficult to beat because he has the shots to beat anyone. He showed that yesterday.

So I knew that I had to -- once I was up and ahead, I needed to kind of keep pressing and keep going forward, and I did that well today, I feel like.

Q. As you look ahead, as you have touched on also about looking ahead to New York, comparing to last year with that incredible final, do you feel a bit more confident this year, considering what you have done going into the Open compared to last year? How would you evaluate yourself across the two events?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, I mean, last year before the US Open, I didn't expect nothing from myself, to be honest, because first of all, we didn't play any tournaments for six months, and second, I had a pretty average Cincinnati tournament in New York.

Yeah, I mean, I was still finding my game during the US Open last year, but it worked well for me. I was pretty close to winning it. But I'm looking forward to what's in it for me this year, and we'll see how it is once I arrive there.

Q. When you speak with Andrey, as long as y'all have been friends, do you speak to him in English or Russian?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Russian.