Alexander Zverev has had a solid clay swing this year winning the Madrid Open and defeating some stellar opposition on the red dirt.
Alexander Zverev is no foreigner to clay courts as he practically grew up on the surface playing tennis in Hamburg. He spoke about his ability to switch from hard to clay fast due to his familiarity with the surface. It certainly showed earlier in his career as he won the Madrid Open and reached a final in Rome.
This year he won Madrid again defeating Rafael Nadal en route to the trophy while his result in Rome and Monte-Carlo was solid. Those results prompted him to say he believes he could win Roland Garros. He said:
“I think that I have chances this year. I feel okay, I feel fit. I’m ready for this step. The tournament in Madrid gave me a lot of confidence. Of course, I’ve been playing well lately.”
Zverev came close to winning his maiden Grand Slam last year at the US Open where he blew a 2-0 lead against Dominic Thiem. It made him even hungrier for Grand Slam success as he admitted:
“I want it even more now. I think I’ve been a better tennis player since then. I sat down and thought I had to improve things, do things differently.”
Zverev has an 18-8 record in 2021 with two titles in Acapulco (ATP 500) and Madrid (ATP 1000). There is a chance Zverev might go through Nadal to win the Roland Garros and on that prospect Zverev only said:
“If we meet again in Paris, it will also be a very interesting game.”