“I can beat anyone”: Alexander Zverev remains optimistic ahead of French Open

Germany’s tennis star Alexander Zverev has expressed optimism that he can beat anyone on a given day if he finds his ‘strength’.

The 27-year-old is going through a mixed season where he started brilliantly and played in the semifinal of the Australian Open where he lost to Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in a five-set thriller with a score of 5-7, 3-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-3.

After that, Zverev found it hard to produce the goods consistently. His best outings since the semifinal in Melbourne were two more semifinal appearances in ATP events — the Los Cabos Open and the Miami Open.

However, on both occasions, he came second-best and finished on the losing side. Zverev was recently quoted in a report where he talked in detail about his goals for the French Open and expressed optimism that he has what it takes to beat anyone if he is playing to his potential.

"I’m definitely finding my rhythm, that’s for sure,” he said. “I’m happy to be in the quarterfinals as well, but I’m basically taking this clay court season and also took the last tournaments of this clay court season to definitely find my game a little bit. I want to play differently.

"I want to play the way that I think I can give myself the best chance to win Paris. That is my main goal at the end of the day. That’s what I’m hoping to do, and I know I have to change a few things. I have to play more aggressively, and it’s coming together. Hopefully, it’s going to get even better in Paris. Everything just has to be more aggressive.

"When I did give myself the best chance to win in 2022, I feel like before the injury happened, that’s when I was at my best. And that’s when I was kind of dominating from the back of the court as well. I have to do that. Just by pushing the ball around, just by kind of waiting for the opponent’s mistakes.

"For me, in my mind, I’m a player that, unfortunately, I know I can lose to anyone. I’ve done that in the past. But I also do know that once I find my rhythm and once I find my strength, I can beat anyone, especially on this surface. So I have to focus on myself, focus on my game, and find my rhythm. Then I think that’s going to give me the best chance of winning.”