MUTUA MADRID OPEN

April 29, 2025

Alexander Zverev

Press Conference

F. CERUNDOLO/A. Zverev

7-5, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Sascha, please.

Q. Cerundolo has beaten you three times out of three, he's the only player with this record in your career. Do you think it's something in his game or his mental stuff that makes you feel so tough?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: No, I think it's his game. To be honest, like today I felt like I played okay, I didn't think that I played terrible. I was serving okay, I was hitting forehand well, I was hitting backhand well. But honestly, he plays better than me. He played better than me today. He definitely played better than me last year when we played here. In Argentina it was a little bit of funny match. But to be honest, I didn't play terrible, he just played better than me.

Q. You feel disappointed because maybe you are, you were the first favorite maybe to win the title?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, of course. Especially here, you know, I always feel like I can play good tennis and I can win the tournament, for sure, for me that suits me.

In the end of the day, as I said, I don't think I played terrible. You know, the match before, before Munich when I was losing, I was losing because of me, I was losing because I was playing bad and I was missing and I was maybe not brave enough and some of this.

I cannot really say that today. Maybe I played one bad game at 6-5 in the first set, but this is one game per match, you know, this can happen.

But all in all, I feel like my game is improving, and I feel like there is not too much wrong with my game. I just feel like that today my opponent was better than me, and this can happen in sport.

Q. You've said a few times that sometimes it takes you some time to get going on the clay. Do you feel that's sort of happened this season, and then to going into Rome and Roland Garros?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I mean, I won a title already, right, so I can't really say that I'm not feeling comfortable on the surface. So, we'll see, but, I mean, I still feel confident about the next few weeks going forward.

Q. Could you take us through the last 24, 30 hours and how important was that, without making an excuse, I guess, but how important was that for your performance today?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, I mean, for me specifically it's maybe a bit more tricky than for other people because of my diabetes. I have a set schedule on what to eat and stuff like that, so of course yesterday that was not possible for, since 12 o'clock I didn't get many of my food in.

But that's not an excuse, because, again, I just feel like my opponent played better. It was the same for everybody, you know. Everybody didn't get the food that they wanted, and everybody maybe didn't get the practice that they wanted yesterday, and stuff like this, but this is nothing that I can complain about because everybody was in the same boat.

Q. Many people thinks that today is more easier or more easier to be in the top 10 or to reach the top 10?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: No.

Q. What do you think about that?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: No, definitely not. It's much more difficult. The depth of players is much more.

Before when, I remember when I got to the top 10 first time was 2017, it was eight years ago. Yes, the top 10 was very strong, and we had the four best players in the world with Novak, Rafa, Roger, Andy, Stan, you know, del Potro and all those guys, but the level from, I would say, 10 to 20 and then 20 to 30 was much lower than it is now. Yes, the top of the top was unbelievable, but the depth now is much more.