ROLEX PARIS MASTERS

November 1, 2024

Alexander Zverev

Press Conference

A. ZVEREV/S. Tsitsipas

7-5, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. Sascha, Stefanos said that from all the players that he played this year, you are the one who made the most improvement in your game, in your all-around game, since last year where he beat you. Do you agree with that?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I think Jannik Sinner has something to say against that (smiling). But I'm happy that he feels this way. That's a big compliment for me from his side. So thank you to him for that.

But, I mean, I'm trying, I'm working on things, I'm trying different things, for sure. Tennis doesn't stop, you know. You have to continue finding your ways to improve. You see by how Jannik and Carlos are playing right now, you know, tennis is becoming so fast and so aggressive that, yeah, you need to find ways to improve your game.

Q. You have played 84 matches this year until now. That would be the ATP Finals next. Maybe two more matches, maybe two more matches in this event. Do you know who is the player who played the most single matches in one season during the history of tennis and how many matches?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: In history of tennis?

Q. Yes, modern.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

Q. Guillermo Vilas in '77, 150.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: 150 matches?

Q. 150 matches.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Well, I'm never going to play 150 matches in a year.

Q. My question is how do you feel after 84 matches?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I have had this question actually today during a TV press conference. I have said, you know, the first six months of the year were fantastic for me, so I did play a lot of matches there. You know, I was winning quite a lot, which is great, and I was going far in all the tournaments.

The last few months for me have been more difficult, which means actually I didn't play so many matches, so I had more free time. I also pulled out of some events with health issues. So actually, I feel fine. I feel motivated to find my game again and to kind of improve also.

Actually, I'm playing matches, I'm practicing before the matches, I'm practicing after the matches every day, because I want to improve and I want to get better and, you know, achieve the big goals that I still have.

To your question, I feel okay. I feel fine (smiling).

Q. A great win, and you're looking better than, let's say, from 2020 when you reached the finals here. I'm interested in your opinion on, let's say, this notion of the Big Three in tennis, because we are probably looking at the duopoly now of Sinner and Alcaraz, and whether this relationship can drive them to where it's huge successes like was the case with Novak, Roger, and Rafa. You have the high goals that you have and you just mentioned, do you think that you are the No. 3 there, not the third, but the third person in this new triangle that could make the change in the imminent history of tennis in the coming years?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I mean, for sure they are No. 1 and 2 right now. You can see that they both won two Grand Slams this year, so there is no question about that.

You know, even if I finish ahead of Carlos this year, which is still a possibility, you know, I still believe that they're No. 1 and 2, just by the things that they have achieved, right?

I think in my case, because I'm a bit older, it's different. You know, I feel like by the end of 2021 I was one of the best players in the world. I felt like, you know, Novak, Daniil, and myself were kind of sharing the big tournaments between us, and in 2021, especially last six months, you know, I won the gold medal, Novak won Wimbledon, Daniil won US Open, I won the World Tour Finals. So it was kind of shared.

I feel like I was going towards this direction of becoming maybe No. 1 in the world in 2022. I started the season very well, and at the French Open I felt like it was my chance to maybe win my first Grand Slam and to become World No. 1, because I would have become World No. 1 at that tournament.

But then it happened what happened. It kind of went out of my control, so I always say I took a two-year break from being one of the best players in the world. I took a two-year break from being a contender at Grand Slams, because 2022 obviously I didn't play anymore, and 2023 was my comeback season. I was not a contender for winning Grand Slams, not a contender for winning big tournaments. I was trying my best, working hard, but for me to win a big title was very far away still.

So I do feel like this season is the first season again after about two, two-and-a-half years where I was a contender.

And again, I'm still trying to improve things. I'm still trying to get better. Hopefully next year will look a little bit different than this year with the big titles, and hopefully I can play a role in it, as well. This is my goal still.

Q. You had some trouble with your lung the past few months? How did you feel, and did you recover truly? Are you at 100% now for the end of the season? Because you are looking great this week in Paris.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I don't know. I have to go do the scans and do the tests. I'm doing this after this week, going to Berlin to do the tests.

I do feel okay. I feel fine. But they also told me, doctors told me, you'll gradually get together, but to be back at 100% will take a few months, because this is not something that just goes away like an illness within one or two weeks and then that's it.

It will take a few months, but I feel okay. I feel not like I'm getting super tired on the court or I struggle to breathe, but also, to be fair, the court here is so fast that there is rarely any long rallies. So I think that that is maybe helping me this week a little bit, as well.

Q. What did you need to practice after the match? And how long did it take?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: There is just a plan that I have, what I want to improve until the Australian Open. It's not about the match. It's not about today, not about yesterday, it's not to improve for tomorrow.

For me, it's to improve for the Australian Open, and I have a few things that I feel like other players are doing better than me, and I want to improve on those things.

Q. How long did you play?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: One hour. I just finished now. I'm still in training clothes.