World No. 3, Alexander Zverev, shared his thoughts following his loss to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros. Djokovic won the match with a scoreline of 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 4-6.
When asked by a journalist if he expected Djokovic to maintain such a high level for over three hours and about the difficulty in handling Djokovic`s drop shots, Zverev responded, “What can you say? He`s won 24 Grand Slams. Yes, I expected him to be capable of such a performance. However, I honestly haven`t seen him playing at this specific level so far this year.”
Zverev continued, “He played tennis at a very, very high standard. At times, it was genuinely tough for me. In the first set, while the sun was still out and the court was warm, I could hit through him and do damage with my serve. But later, as it got cooler, there was almost nothing I could do.”
“At a certain point, I truly didn`t know how to win a rally from the baseline against him. He seemed to have an answer for every one of my attacks. So, credit to him – he was the better player today,” Zverev stated.
Addressing a question about whether Djokovic`s achievements at age 38 are underestimated, particularly after similar performances like the one against Alcaraz at the Australian Open, Zverev agreed. “Yes, to be honest, I think he is a bit underestimated right now. It`s interesting you mention it, as many have already written him off. Yet, this year he beat Carlos at the Australian Open and now me at Roland Garros.”
“Forget about age – these are great results for any player,” Zverev added. “Of course, you`d have to ask him how he feels physically, how he recovers, and if he`ll be 100% ready for his next match. Today`s match was quite draining for both of us.”
“But he is still defeating the best of the best, and that deserves respect,” Zverev concluded during his press conference.
Marcus Prine