Alexander Zverev still in search of his first Grand Slam title

In Melbourne, Alexander Zverev moves forward without making any noise, a little in spite of himself. Since the start of the Australian Open, the spotlight has mainly been on world number 1, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz (3^e) et Novak Djokovic (7^e), his opponent, Friday January 24, in the semi-finals. The German qualified more discreetly than the Serbian, winner of the “clash of generations” against the Spaniard, but with pain.

After an uneventful start to the fortnight, even if he had already dropped a set in the eighth against the Frenchman Ugo Humbert, the world number 2 was seriously upset by the American Tommy Paul in the quarter-finals, in the heat of the Rod Wash Arena. His victory was, according to him, a small hold-up, because the creative and enterprising native of New Jersey had the upper hand for three sets (7-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-1) .

Alexander Zverev finally used the experience to reach his third semi-final in the Antipodes, after 2020 and 2024. “Last year I spent a lot more time on the court before reaching the final four, so it’s very different, analyzed the 27-year-old player, Tuesday January 21. It looks more like 2020, when I got to the semis losing only one set on the way [contre le Suisse Stanislas Wawrinka]. I’m impatient, because I have a clear goal: I’m chasing my first Grand Slam title, so let’s hope I have two more very tough matches to play here. »

Two failed Grand Slam finals

Jérémy Chardy was able to see the rigor of the German, applied as rarely, before his future ex-colt Ugo Humbert (the two men have just stopped their collaboration) crossed swords with him. “Often, he started the Grand Slams by doing anything in the first rounds. There, he is much more serious, he loses less energy, he confided to The Team. He is very determined, he trains very hard. His goal is to win a Grand Slam, and he is starting to be ready in his head. Tennis-wise, he has been for a while. In the head, it was harder. He is one of the favorites to go to the end. »

Alexander Zverev finally wants to remove the label of “best player in the world to have never won a Grand Slam” attached to his racket. To be number 2 in the world, “it’s nice, but I want to go even higher”, he said after his victory at the Masters 1000 in Bercy, at the beginning of November 2024. Despite seven Masters 1000s and two “masters tournaments” (2018, 2021) on his record, his two lost Grand Slam finals – the 2020 US Open against to the Austrian Dominic Thiem and Roland-Garros 2024 against Carlos Alcaraz – remain in his throat.

Throughout the Bercy tournament, the German worked overtime in training, from the match point onwards – including after the final. He worked extra hard at the end of the season, after questioning himself: to go and titillate Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz and also play leading roles at the top of world tennis, he can no longer afford to have the slightest deficiency in his game.

“In tennis, if we don’t evolve, we go backwards”

“When I play against Jannik and Carlos, I see that they do certain things better than me and I want to improve (…) for next season, he justified in Paris. In tennis, if we don’t evolve, we go backwards. Jannik has improved a lot this year, Carlos too, in certain areas. Novak has progressed every season for fifteen or twenty years. If I want to achieve my biggest goals, I have to make progress. Today, I’m still not good enough. »

The German had a haughty reputation when he arrived at the highest level, and not only because he stands at 1.98 m. Today, he shows a more relaxed face. This is evidenced by his bursts of humor in recent days in Melbourne. Asked after his quarter-final about the Alcaraz-Djokovic choice poster which was to follow on the Rod Laver Arena, Zverev gently mocked the spectators, an ironic smile on his lips: “Djokovic-Alcaraz? A totally boring match. I don’t see why you would stay here to see that, when you just saw Zverev against Paul. Seriously… “

At the end of the court, he did not yet know who, the Serbian or the Spaniard, he would meet in the next round. “At this stage, in a Grand Slam, you have to expect heavy things. I will prepare for this tough battle, for a very high intensity match. I know I have the level, I have already beaten them. Hopefully I’ll be able to do it again in the next few days. » If he were to beat the best tennis player in history, a ten-time winner in Melbourne, this time, his victory would certainly make noise.