Alexander Zverev has experienced facing all of ‘The Big Three’ on multiple occasions during his career.
Zverev became a Grand Slam champion for the first time earlier this month after winning the Roland Garros title.
Despite this, his previous grass court form means that many don’t have Zverev as a top contender for the Wimbledon title this year.
As he looks to prove people wrong, Zverev has now spoken in his pre-tournament press conference, where he was asked about a number of topics including Serena Williams’ comeback to tennis.
Alexander Zverev admits he ‘couldn’t handle’ his emotions when he first played Roger Federer
Zverev was asked about Williams’ upcoming match against Maya Joint, the 20-year-old Australian who will be looking to cause an upset to the former world number one’s singles comeback.
The world number three was asked about this in relation to how he felt playing against the likes of ‘The Big Three’, as Zverev recalled how nervous he felt when he played Roger Federer at the Italian Open in 2016.
“Well, the very first time I played one of them was against Roger in Rome,” said Zverev. “I was extremely nervous. I couldn’t handle my emotions. I didn’t play a very good match. But then you get used to it, right? I think the more often you do it, the more used to it you get.
“No, the first time wasn’t Roger. It was Rafa [Nadal], Indian Wells, I think. Right? I’m not sure anymore. It was that period of time.
“First time you’re nervous. Second time you’re a bit better. Third and fourth time you see them as opponents. Especially when you’re young and when you’re starting to get better and you’re climbing up the rankings, you just try to figure out ways to beat them.
“Of course, those are players that you always watched, you had admired since a very young age. You have to put that behind you and you have to try to focus on what you can do on a tennis court to win. At the end of the day, that’s what you’re here for was.”
Zverev lost that match against Federer 6-3, 7-5, but he actually ended up with the upper hand in their head-to-head, which he led 4-3.
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Alexander Zverev reveals how he felt playing Rafael Nadal at his final Roland Garros
Zverev also played multiple matches against Rafael Nadal, including his final match at Roland Garros in 2024.
The German was then asked if he felt this was comparable to Williams’ return match at Wimbledon, with Zverev also explaining why he wanted to play Nadal at Roland Garros again after suffering an ankle injury against him in 2022.
“I think it is a bit different because Serena took a longer time off,” said Zverev. “I think she took almost four years off – right? – whereas Rafa took a couple of months off and was still at a very high level of his game, but he wasn’t seeded. I was I think number two or three seed at Roland Garros. I’m not sure anymore. I was somewhere there still.
“Both of us had a mindset of we’re trying to win the match, then we’re going to try to win the tournament. For me, I didn’t want to play Rafa in the first round. I think nobody wants to play Rafa in the first round. No question about it.
“I wanted to play Rafa one more time at Roland Garros because of what happened in 2022 just to put that behind me and have a new memory against Rafa whether I win or lose. Of course, after the match I was very happy that we played.”
How many more Grand Slams does Alexander Zverev win now?
What a final!
Zverev will be one of the big names at Wimbledon this year, as he looks to surpass the fourth round of the grass court major for the first time in his career.
In the first round, Zverev will play against Alexander Blockx, who he has already beaten twice on clay this year.
