Alexander Zverev has clear ideas about his next goals: Slams and the throne of men's tennis. The German, after an incredible performance in the third Round Robin match at the ATP Finals, beat Carlos Alcaraz with the score in straight sets with the final score of 7-6(5), 6-4. A victory that guaranteed him first place in the John Newcombe Group and the semifinal against Taylor Fritz. The American closed his path in the Ilie Nastase Group only behind Jannik Sinner.
ADVERTISEMENT
At the press conference after beating the young Spaniard, Zverev analyzed how both he and Carlitos played at a very high level, especially in the important moments. It is true that the German explained that he is thinking about improving, but he is still interested in the result.
"Being focused on things to improve maybe helps mentally. I should do it in every tournament! Volleys? I'm working on it. I don't play them like my brother yet. That's why I'm not number one but number two in the world. I hope I can still improve," he said.
Zverev then added how the French Open is always marked on his calendar since he got injured there. But it's no secret - as he stressed - that winning a Slam and becoming number 1 are his goals.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I would sign up, of course, to win a Major in Australia too. It would certainly be special if I won my first Slam in Paris, but I would be happy to win it in one of the other three tournaments as well," he added.
Zverev stressed how nice it is to have won all these matches, but it's not something he thinks about much. The German said how he thinks about winning the big tournaments, improving to compete with Alcaraz and Sinner.
"I don't think they play much defense. Tennis is not about defense anymore, a few years ago it was different. 90% of the time they play offense. It's about being able to keep up with them, the speed of their ball. You can't back down and you have to score in the important moments. Maybe I had some difficulties in that respect in my career. Now I'm in the semifinals of the Finals and I have the chance to face a player who beat me the last two times at Wimbledon and the US Open," explained the German.
ADVERTISEMENT
For the third time in the history of the year-end Masters, two tennis players have closed the group stage without losing a single set. In 1978, John McEnroe and Brian Gottfried achieved the goal; in 2014, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer did it, winning all three matches of their respective groups in two sets. This year, ten years later, Zverev and Sinner accomplished the feat at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
