BNP PARIBAS OPEN

March 5, 2025

Alexander Zverev

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome back to the desert. How is the preparation going for the tournament? How did you find the new courts?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: New courts?

THE MODERATOR: Yeah, new surface.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: There is a new surface?

THE MODERATOR: Yeah. Before they ask you, I'm asking.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Feels the same to me, to be honest. Practiced here for four days, I didn't notice it. Didn't know anything about it.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Can you talk us through, like, the decisions to go to South America for those first two tournaments in February, what you were hoping to get out of all that and then obviously a busy month, not as busy as you wanted it to be, and then sort of coming here, where that puts you after having such a good Australia.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: It was a rough South American swing for me. I got ill two out of three weeks, which isn't great.

But, I mean, I wanted to go on clay, I wanted to play that swing. I've heard so many great things about it, so I wanted to experience it once.

You know, Buenos Aires, it was unfortunate for me because I got food poisoning there. Rio I was in a winning position and it was super, super hot, super, super humid for me there. I think just difficult conditions generally.

I also didn't play great tennis. Maybe it wasn't the right thing to do in the end, especially after reaching the finals of the Australian Open, maybe should have stuck on hard court a little longer. But, I just wanted to go on clay and find my game on clay as soon as possible. Because if you look at historically, I can play well on clay, for sure, but usually the first two, three weeks I play terrible, and I lose to -- I mean, I don't win the tournaments. I don't play great tennis.

I just wanted to get that out of the way and maybe find my rhythm on that surface and get a better preparation for the French Open.

Q. You remember what it's like to be 18 on this tour.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah.

Q. Can you put yourself in the tennis shoes of Joao Fonseca and give us your thoughts on him.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: It's almost the best time, because everything seems so easy. You know, you're kind of seeing a tennis ball, seeing the guy across from you at the net, and there is no thoughts behind anything else.

He's very young, very, very talented, he's going to be great player, for sure. I think he can be top 10 and maybe even further than that.

But yeah, I think when you're young, you're kind of swinging freely, you're enjoying your time on the professional circuit for the first time, and there is no pressure.

So, yeah, I like what I'm seeing from him. I think he's a great player.

Q. What do you like about his game?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Well, he has tremendous power from both sides. He has quite a good serve. I think he has to work a lot on his movement still. But generally, he has a lot of power, and I think it's interesting to see.

Q. Having been through a difficult time in South America, how are you feeling now? And also, how difficult is the transition back from clay to hard court?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Transition is okay. It's not that difficult for me. It was really about feeling well. You know, again, two out of three weeks, two out of the last three weeks, I wasn't feeling great. Acapulco, also, a lot of players got ill there.

It was a bit of an unfortunate tournament, because I felt like, especially after the first round, I felt like, okay, maybe I got through a tough match, and I can go deep in the tournaments. But then it hit me in that night, same as a lot of other guys.

Yeah, I mean, I still feel positive. I still think I had a good start to the season. If you look back at Australia, I reached another Grand Slam final. But of course, I want to find my rhythm again and I want to win tennis matches again.

Q. Physically, are you back to normal?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, right now I feel good, yeah. It took some time, but I feel well.

Q. Cincinnati is a tournament where you have had success, obviously won the title, semis last year. They are all but rebuilding that tournament from the ground up, new facilities, bigger draw, longer tournament. Is that a tournament you look forward to?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, I really like Cincinnati nowadays. I really didn't like the tournament the first seven times I got there. I lost seven first rounds in a row, which isn't great.

But, I found my happy place there in a way. I'm staying at the same house. My family usually comes. My girlfriend comes. It's always, like, a very familiar kind of situation for me now, which is very nice. You know, I feel comfort in that, in a way. So I figured that out a few years ago, and kind of keeping that routine.

I mean, Cincinnati is a tournament in general I really like it. I think it's a good tournament. I'm excited to see the new facilities.

I'm not the biggest fan of two-week Masters events. I think just the season is getting longer and longer, and we have more time we have to spend at tournaments, but it's not the tournament's fault. In general it's not Cincinnati's fault, it's just the decision that the ATP made.

But all in all, I feel positive about Cincinnati and the changes that they are doing.

Q. Do you do that here? Do you have a familiar routine?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah.

Q. A place?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, I try to stay at the same place. I try to have the same people around me. I really like staying away from hotels. So, like, the tournaments that I get a chance to stay in houses and not in a hotel, I really like that. I really like to have my family around, I really like to have the people that are close to me around, and I enjoy that.

Q. You're not a golfer?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I am a big golfer.

Q. You are.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: A lot of golf for me.