Alexander Zverev on facing Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open

Match Preview

Zverev ‘happy’ to face Sinner and Alcaraz for perfect Slam win

German third seed plays Tabilo in US Open first round

Matthew Stockman/Getty Images Alexander Zverev reached the final at the US Open in 2020. By ATP Staff

Winning a Grand Slam title is one thing, doing it by taking out your biggest rivals en route is another.

Given recent history, Alexander Zverev is well aware that defeating both Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz may be necessary if he is to lift his maiden major trophy. The No. 1 and No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings, respectively, Sinner and Alcaraz have between them won the past seven Grand Slam crowns. Yet for No. 3 Zverev, their presence in the draw at the US Open marks an opportunity for him to achieve something truly special.

“I would be more than happy to play Jannik in the semis and Carlos in the finals here. I would be very, very happy to do that,” said Zverev in his pre-tournament press conference in New York. “If I achieve my dream, if I achieve the goal that I set for myself in lifting the trophy above my head, then I know that I really deserve it, because I went through the most difficult path that there can be at the moment. So that's totally fine.

“I want to win a Grand Slam and I want to win the biggest tournaments in the world by beating the best players in the world. Of course, if all of a sudden they lose first round and second round and I'm playing, I don't know, the world No. 50 in the final, I will sign that paper right now, don't get me wrong. But still, if you beat the best players in the world to win a Grand Slam, you deserve it. That's my mindset, and that's how I think about things.”

A three-time major finalist, including at the US Open in 2020, Zverev arrives in New York with a 43-16 record for the year, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. While he has had something of an up-and-down year by his usual consistent standards, he believes he has picked up a mid-year boost from a July training stint with Toni Nadal in Mallorca, where Rafael Nadal also dropped by to offer advice to his former on-court rival.

“I think there are certain parts of my game that still are worse than from other players,” reflected Zverev. “I'm not going to mention them now, but I think there are certain parts of my game that Carlos and Jannik are doing better than me. They are showing parts of my game that I'm doing better than them, also.

“It's about also finding ways to beat the best players in the world, right? It's about finding the right patterns, the right training to do that. That's why I went to see Uncle Toni and Rafa, because I wanted to see and then hear a new vision of what tennis in their mind looks like and how my tennis in their mind looks like.”

A two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion, the 28-year-old Zverev continues to work on the small margins that he believes can finally earn him a Grand Slam title. He feels that heeding wise words from his former Lexus ATP Head2Head rival Nadal are a good example of how he can continue to improve, even at 28 years old and as a 24-time ATP Tour champion.

“Rafa, for example, he played against me for 10 years,” said Zverev of Nadal, against whom he held a 4-7 Lexus ATP Head2Head record. “So now, as a spectator and also as an opponent, he can probably give you the best advice anybody else can, because he knows what it's like to be on the court with me.

“It was exactly that I was looking for, right? I'm looking forward in these two weeks that we have now to beat everybody or beat seven players in front of me. I don't need to beat everybody, just the seven guys in front of me.

“I think in tennis everybody can always improve. It's as simple as that.”

Click here to read article