AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 19, 2025

Alexander Zverev

Press Conference

A. ZVEREV/U. Humbert

6-1, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Sascha, through to the quarterfinals once more. How did you rebound after losing the second set?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Quite well, I guess (smiling).

Yeah, I mean, sometimes Ugo is someone who is unplayable. He returns my first serve in front of the baseline at times, playing faster than I serve. The second set was simply too good from him.

Then yeah, I rebounded quite well. I think I played good tennis to finish off the third and fourth set.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Random stat. 26 straight wins against left-handers. Is there something about your game that matches up well against lefties?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, I saw that. I don't think it's something that matches up well particularly against left-handed. I just think it's based simply on the fact that I had an older brother who is left-handed, and I grew up with left-handers.

Just practicing with a left-handed player, knowing all the slices, the topspins that they do, which are maybe uncomfortable for some players are maybe more comfortable for me simply because I'm used to it. I think that's maybe the main reason.

Q. You haven't played Tommy in a while.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah.

Q. Have you hit with him or practiced with him at all?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I practiced with him once in Shanghai last year.

Q. Can you sort of size him up as an opponent?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I think he grew a lot as a player, right? He's close to being top 10 in the world. He had some great results at Grand Slams, Masters events. He's a top player now. Very, very different to the last few times I played him.

Again, a lot of time has passed since then. But I'm looking forward to this match.

Q. Can you say what you think makes him...

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I think he is somebody that is quite a smart player. I think he is somebody that can change tactics quite a lot when he plays tennis. He can mix up his serves a lot. He can mix up his groundstrokes a lot.

He can go high with the forehand, can go faster, use a lot of backhand slice. Just shorten the points, make them longer. He can do everything on a tennis court.

Yeah, again, I think it's going to be a tough challenge. I'm looking forward to it.

Q. You said a few times that Ugo Humbert could be a top-10 player. What do you think makes him a contender for that?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I think if you watched the second set, I doubt that anybody wins that set against him. If he somehow finds a way to play like that in a more stable way, for sure he's top 10.

He has everything. He has the lefty serve which is incredibly tough to return. His returns are unbelievable when they're working. I mean, again, sometimes he was returning faster than I was serving.

There's not a lot of players that do that and have that capability. He's, what, 14 in the world now? He's probably going to go up the rankings after this tournament. I don't know if that's true or not. I'm just guessing.

So he's not far from being top 10, right? He's only like two or three spots away from that. I definitely think that he has the potential to be there.

Q. You mentioned it's a while since you played Tommy. You've sized up the things he does well. Can you remember, given that he won those two matches, can you remember what caused you issues?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I remember Indian Wells, 7-6 in the third, I think. Very close match. He played extremely well. I remember that. He played extremely well in the close moments. The tiebreaker in the third set, might have been even 7-Love. I'm not sure. It was something along those lines. He played an incredible match.

I lost to him once in Acapulco where I think I served 15 double faults in a straight-sets loss. I had my problems back then, I would say.

Again, I think one of those times was an incredible match and one of those times was an extremely bad match from me. The more realistic thing to look at is obviously Indian Wells, which I will do with my team.

Again, I think it's been such a long time since then that both of us have grown. He has grown tremendously since then. I have massive respect for him. He's someone I get along very, very well in the locker room and outside the courts.

Playing someone like that in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, there's a reason why they are quarterfinalists and there's a reason why they won four matches to get to that point.

I expect a very tough battle.

Q. When you're playing as well as you're playing, is it hard for your mind not to wander to think, This could be my tournament?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I feel like everybody who's at this stage is playing well, right? I think everybody who is in the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam, semifinal of a Grand Slam, deserves to be there. There's no easy pathway to get there.

Yes, sometimes the draw opens up a little bit more. Sometimes some players lose that aren't comfortable for you. To be at this stage, you have to be playing great tennis.

In my mind, yeah, I know I'm playing quite well. I feel that on the court. I feel like I can do quite a lot of damage when I feel like this. But the opponents are the same way. They're in the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam. They do feel like they deserve to be there, as well.

I think from now onwards is only going to be tough battles.