ATP: Interview with Alexander Zverev: “My Eternal Dream: To be the Best”

Alexander Zverev (21) starts this weekend for the second time at the ATP World Championship in the London O2-Arena, in a group with Novak Djokovic, Marin Cilic and John Isner (Mo., 15 o’clock in LIVETICKER). The German number one maintained its position as the absolute world leader in 2018; Zverev is currently number 5 in the ATP rankings. Next year Zverev will compete in Germany at the Gerry Weber Open (15th to 23rd June) in Halle, Westphalia.

By Jörg Allmeroth from London

Question: “Mr. Zverev, what did you think of your tennis year 2018 so far?”

Zverev: “It was a good year. I have asserted myself in the top 5 of the world, this is not self-evident for a 21-year-old boy. It is easier to get to the summit region than to stay there. I’m hunted every day of the year, for many it’s a reward to win against me.”

Question: “How stressful is this permanent pressure to perform for you, physically and mentally?”

Zverev: “The year on the tour is already incredibly hard. And, as I said, I have high expectations, very high expectations. In Germany one is spoiled with absolute top people, with superstars. We had Boris, Steffi and Michael. You have to win something really big, like a Grand Slam, to be perceived positively. But I’m not complaining, it’s just a realistic statement.”

Question: “You yourself said as a teenager: I want to be the best. Do you realize now how hard this is?”

Zverev: “I still have the claim to be the best, no question about it. Nobody expects more from me than I do. But I’ve become more realistic. I know much better that there are times when you stagnate in the world ranking before you rise again. And that you lose games you think you should win. I would say: I can now assess very well what reality looks like in a career. But I’m still a dreamer who pursues his dream of becoming number 1.”

Question: “For the last year and a half, the young players have paid all their attention to you, the man who must become the number one of the future. Recently, however, other youngsters have also moved strongly into focus: The Greek Tsitsipas, the Russian Khachanov…”

Zverev: “I am happy about that, there is not the slightest envy. It is not easy to assert oneself in this era with Roger, Rafa and Novak and to attract attention. But now, as the next generation, we are in the process of emancipating ourselves with top sporting performances. I think that’s a good development for tennis now.”

Question: “What was the best moment this season, what was the biggest disappointment?”

Zverev: “I am really satisfied with the consistency I have shown. Lots of good tournaments, three Masters finals, one Masters win. Also the Grand Slams were mostly okay. But in Paris, at the French Open, I had the feeling: Here I’m ready for something big, here I want to get very far, have a top match against Nadal or Thiem. Nadal and I, we had determined the clay court season, but in Paris I just lost my strength at the end.”

Question: “Since the US Open you now have a so-called supercoach at your side – Ivan Lendl. Many in the industry had believed that Boris Becker would be the new man at Zverev…”

Zverev: We have spoken long and often together. And then I found out that now is not the best time for cooperation. Also because he had many other things in his life. But we have also said that if everything goes well, things will look different in a few years’ time. He then advised me to go to Lendl, even though both of them were not exactly the best friends in their active time.

Question: And Lendl? What has this partnership brought you so far?

Zverev: “We have already changed a lot. Ivan is a fascinating, exciting guy who is incredibly logical and methodical. And every second he knows exactly what he’s doing. He has a very clear idea of what my game should look like. And that’s what we’re working on now.”

Question: “What does it look like if you have suffered a painful defeat? Will you hear from him in plain language?”

Zverev: “That’s not how it works. He knows that the emotions have to settle first. That you have to cool off. We’ll just go over this thing for two, three days. I’m better at dealing with defeats now, they’re part of your life on the tour. You can’t keep nibbling on it forever.”

Question: “You are sometimes openly ticked off in the tennis scene, for example, when after a final defeat you described the level of the game as “ridiculous”?

Zverev: “There are many players who go to press conferences and say some nice things – even if they don’t mean what they’re saying at all. I’m openly saying my opinion, it’s just my nature. I realize it’s not for everyone.”

Question: “How do you deal with criticism?”

Zverev: “I have no problem at all with criticism. In principle, I myself am my sharpest and toughest critic. I always try to be completely honest with myself.”

Question: “Is it generally important to you how you are judged? How others see you?”

Zverev: “Of course I want people to like me. That’s a normal reaction. Also and especially in Germany, where I grew up and spent almost my whole life. But at German tournaments like the Gerry Weber Open or the Davis Cup I feel a real tailwind. It’s nice when people understand and support you. But what I still believe is that many people don’t really know me.”

Question: “How do you see yourself?”

Zverev: “Sounds a bit dramatic now: But I always try to be a good person. I’m always open, honest with other people. I’m also a very emotional person. I have, like everyone else, my highs and lows. And I’m struggling to deal better with my disappointments.”

Question: “In recent months there has been a stirring debate about the Davis Cup in world tennis. You said clearly: “I’m not playing in November, in the planned final round at the end of a stressful season…”

Zverev: “It stays that way. And I don’t see any of the top players competing. Maybe Nadal, because the first tournament will be in Spain. But the season is already too long anyway, it will be even longer now – and not shorter. We are the sport that knows the fewest breaks. You have no real recovery time, a much too short vacation.”

Question: “The new Davis Cup world will be decided in a year in which you have experienced two emotional international matches – most recently in Spain…”.

Zverev: “The Davis Cup in its old format is extremely valuable to me. It was a dream to win it, with real home and real away games. Now it is inconceivable for me to travel to a Davis Cup week with 17 other teams after an ATP final tournament. I just don’t think much of it. But I will play the qualifying match against Hungary in February next year in Frankfurt, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Question: “There were other suggestions as well: Playing the Davis Cup every two years, over two years. Or even, like the World Cup, only once in four years…”

Zverev: “That would be conceivable. A final round of three, four weeks, every four years. But not every year with 18 teams, at the end of a season where everyone has so many matches on their backs. And you long for the London finale on holiday.”

Question: “It will, this lawsuit is not new, just played too much tennis…”

Zverev: “The last time I caught myself in Beijing was looking at my mobile phone, seeing the date. And I thought, “Man, that’s two months from now. But this is reality. And part of this reality is that changes are very difficult to implement.”

Question: “Have there been days in recent years when you haven’t thought about tennis at all?”

Zverev: “Oh, yes. On vacation. Or even on days when you’re out with friends and just have a good time. I don’t have a problem not thinking about tennis.”