Zverev sums up his semifinal run at 2020 Australian Open

Alexander Zverev played his best Grand Slam tournament so far when he reached his first major semifinal in Melbourne, losing to Dominic Thiem.

The German explained his different approach to this Grand Slam. After not being successful at the ATP Cup, he had to change something in Melbourne and it worked.

“I went here in a different way. I went match by match. Didn't look very far. I just knew I had opponents in front of me. I had to play well to beat them. That was it. Whenever I won, I'd sit down in the locker room and somebody told me who I'm playing next,” Zverev said. “I went step by step, match by match. Usually I [haven't done] that in Grand Slams.”

Zverev also spoke about his match against Thiem. He was winning after the first set but then he was less successful in decisive moments and that's also why Thiem managed to win the match.

“I had a lot of chances. I had 14 breakpoints. That should be plenty. In the important moments, I didn't play my best. He did. That's where the match kind of went his way,” he said. “We've had a lot of tight moments, four tight sets. In the third set, I had set points. In the fourth set, I had chances. I just got to execute better next time. But credit to him. He's playing unbelievable tennis right now.”

“I was nervous in the beginning. I think that's normal. At the end of the day, as I said, it was a great match. He played some very high-level tennis. He was the best opponent I played this week. Credit to him. He deserves to be in the final,” Zverev said.

Sascha promised he will donate all of his prize money to bushfire relief if he wins the Australian Open. Although he did not manage to do that, he still donated A$50,000 as he promised to donate A$10,000 for each match won in Melbourne.

“The Australian crowd is always very nice to me. I love playing here. They know I love playing here. I always feel welcomed here. That was great,” Zverev said. “Unfortunately, I could not make it happen with all the prize money. As I said, I will keep my promise. I will donate the $50,000 and hope that can help a little bit.”