Impressive winner of the Paris Masters 1000, the German hopes to compete next season with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in the race for Grand Slam titles.
By outclassing Ugo Humbert in the final, Zverev won a seventh Masters 1000 at the age of 26. The first in Paris. He failed in the final in 2020 against Daniil Medvedev. Here he is, the last king of Bercy. “ I was able to be aggressive from the start and that was important because he (Humbert) ballast. And when he can attack, he's one of the best. His defense isn't as good, so he had to attack. I felt really good from the baseline and I think that was the key against him “. From Paris to Paris. In the spring of 2022, the Hamburg native seriously injured his ankle against Rafael Nadal in the semi-final. It clocks Monday at 2e rank just behind Sinner. It's confirmed, the German is back to aim for the summits of world tennis, he who remains in search of a first Grand Slam victory (two defeats in the final at the US Open 2020 and Roland-Garros 2024) .
Today, it's very complicated to be No. 1 without winning a Grand Slam.
In 2025, it will also have first place in the viewfinder. He doesn't hide it while remaining lucid. “I want to go even higher. Today, it's very complicated to be No. 1 without winning a Grand Slam. I'm 3000 points short of Jannik Sinner. In 2021, we shared the headlines with Novak and Daniil (Medvedev). There was a shift taking place. In 2022, I was not far from becoming world number 1. Novak (Djokovic) hadn't played many tournaments because he wasn't vaccinated. Rafa (Nadal) started strong, but got injured. Medvedev too. And then there was the injury and a two-year process to come back. I'm glad to be in the right place again because I had no guarantee of getting there. In 2024, Jannik (Sinner) had the best season. Carlos remains second best, even if I overtake him in the standings. He won Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, two incredible titles. They are the two best players in the world at the moment”
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At Bercy this week, the colossus got into a strange routine. Training after a match. As a beast of burden. And this even after his show of strength in the final: “It's about improving certain aspects of my game. When I play against Jannik and Carlos, I see that they do certain things better than me and I want to improve. Not just for the final, but for next year. That's why I've been training a lot since the beginning of the week, to be better next year. » It's not easy to follow the infernal pace set by the two prodigies. Zverev does not hide his admiration at the mention of the Italian and the Spaniard. “They are so aggressive in their game. I think tennis is going in that direction. When they have an easy ball and are in position to attack, they finish the point at 90%. That's what I'm trying to improve in my game. Anyway, if you don't move forward, you end up going backwards. Novak, over the last 15-20 years, has improved every year. If you asked him if he was a better player last year, in 2023, compared to 10 years ago, when he was younger, I think he would say he is a better tennis player now .”
Without a doubt, we will have to count on Zverev next year. But before that, the German will be particularly one to watch at the Turin Masters (November 10-17) in search of a third coronation at the masters tournament after 2018 and 2021.
