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U.S. OPEN


September 1, 2018


Alexander Zverev


New York, NY, USA

P. KOHLSCHREIBER/A. Zverev

6-7, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What was your thought on what happened out there?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I lost. That's what happened.

Q. In terms of how the match went?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I mean, the second set -- the first set I won. The second set was pretty even. He played a great game at 5-4 to break me. The third set, I mean, he played really well.

I didn't play my best throughout the whole match, I thought. But credits to him, he played very smart, a good match I thought.

Q. On paper it looks like these are the guys who you beat fairly routinely at tour events that are beating you at slams. Do you feel like it's a different matchup this time than other ones?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I mean, at tour events I lose, as well. There's just more tour events. You probably recognize it less. I lost to Robin Haase last week in Cincinnati. I lost to Tsitsipas in Toronto. Those are not that great losses for me either.

There's a lot of focus on the Grand Slams. I've obviously done well in Paris, but not at the other Grand Slams this year maybe for different reasons. I mean, Australia, I played against Chung, who played very well. Wimbledon I was still recovering from an injury. Here I played a good opponent. Just couldn't find my best game today.

Q. Do you think the fact that Kohlschreiber knows you well, is very experienced, helped him a lot in this match? Do you give another explanation for the result?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Look, I mean, sure, he knows me. Last few times we played, I won fairly easy. But today was different. I mean, as I said, he played a good match, played a smart match. He mixed it up well, didn't give me a lot of opportunities.

On the other hand, I also did over 50 unforced errors, which the last few matches I didn't do. It was a mixture of both.

Q. What has Ivan been telling you in terms of how to get the best out of yourself?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I mean, it's a process. It's a process of, you know, developing. I took him to do well at slams. But this is a process. You can't expect to kind of immediately see the results. I think the results will come hopefully next year.

Q. Do you feel like the same player at Grand Slams as you do at tour events?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: You are overthinking this way too much.

Q. Do you think you overthink it?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Wow, you're stretching it, really stretching it.

Q. Ivan Lendl lost many tournaments in the first, second, third rounds before he got to the final. I don't remember if it was 12 or 15.
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: He lost 12 or 15 before...

Q. Before he made a final, yeah. From '78 to '88 something. Then only in '84, he won his first slam after four finals lost. Did he tell you something about that, like, Don't worry, it takes time, happened to me?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I mean, he's very straightforward. He said that it's a process of getting there. It's a process of playing well at slams. He told me before the tournament started that, Hopefully you'll do very well at the US Open, but we're more looking towards next year. We're more looking towards being at latter stages, competing for slams next year.

I understand it. I still want to win, obviously. I want to win today, then playing Nishikori next, who I just played in Washington. I feel like it would have been a pretty okay matchup for me, as well. I wanted to go far.

But, you know, wishes don't always come true.

Q. How would you describe Philipp? Maybe not you, but others may take him for granted. What are your thoughts about his game right now?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, I mean, sometimes he's a little bit underrated -- under the radar as well. He is a great player. He was top 20. He beat a lot of great players, as well.

Credits to him. As I said, he played a fantastic match I thought. Wish him nothing but the best here in the tournament.

Q. What is it that makes him so tough do you think?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: He has everything. He can use a lot of topspin, can hit the ball flat, use a lot of slice. He can mix it up well. It's tough to get a rhythm against him sometimes.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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