"Been the hardest year of my life": Zverev opens up 12 months on after French Open horror injury

Alexander Zverev scored a major win at Roland Garros (French Open) over Frances Tiafoe to secure the second week and after the match, he reflected on the journey.

It was a tough one for Zverev because he injured himself exactly one year before the match against Tiafoe. On June 3rd, Zverev was playing Nadal and his career took a turn for the worse with a major injury that left him wondering whether he'll ever play again. Exactly one year later, on June 3rd, Zverev faced Tiafoe beating him in four sets with a very impressive showing.

After the match, Zvere reflected on the journey explaining that it was the toughest year of his life:

“Today marks exactly one year. I know that. It’s been definitely the hardest year of my life, that’s for sure. I play the sport not because of the money, not because of the fame, not because of anything else but the pure sport. I love this. I love the competitiveness; I love playing in front of you guys."

Zverev continued by explaining that he's happy to be back on Chatrier playing after wondering whether he'll ever play again in the moments after the injury:

“I love tennis more than anything in the world. So, being away from that and kind of have that been taken away from me was very difficult. But I’m so happy to be back here. I’m so happy to be playing these tough battles again on this beautiful court, in front of this beautiful crowd. Hopefully, it’s going to be a fun second week for me because I’m here to stay."

Up next for him is Grigor Dimitrov a player he can certainly beat for a spot in the quarter-final of the event. He leads him 3-1 in h2h matchups.