ROLAND GARROS

June 2, 2025

Alexander Zverev

Press Conference

A. ZVEREV/T. Griekspoor

6-4, 3-0 [Ret.]

THE MODERATOR: Sascha, when did you find out that something was wrong with Tallon during the match today?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Pretty early. I mean, he told me he pulled his ab muscle, so his serve obviously was very limited. It's one of the biggest weapons that he has.

You know, he still started off very strong. He was up 3-Love, but yeah, I mean, I could see he was serving not the normal speeds that he usually serves on the first serve.

But from the baseline, you know, still there was some good rallies, there was some good tennis. Yeah, of course, the serve was a massive factor.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Did you track Novak game through all this tournament? What is the conclusion? What is your opinion on his game, and is he a favorite like Sinner, Alcaraz, and you? Is he in that circle, or is he a black horse?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I mean, the guy won 24 Grand Slams. He's never going to be a black horse. He definitely knows how to play tennis. He definitely knows what it means to be on the big stage and to play big matches. There is no doubt about that.

Of course, until this moment, I had to focus on my matches. Now, from this moment onwards, I have to focus on Novak and maybe Norrie. But I will definitely follow the match, and I'll definitely watch it.

But Novak Djokovic will never be a black horse. For me, Carlos is the favorite. I have said that before. Then I would say the next three in line are Jannik, myself, and Novak, right? I still believe that. I still believe on tennis and on experience Novak is up there with us, no question about that at all.

So, yeah, I think from now on I have the toughest draw in the tournament (smiling). I'm looking forward to the battles ahead, and I'm looking forward to playing the best in the world.

Q. I want to come back to the other day, you won against Flavio Cobolli. He said after the match that he think that you deserve to win a Grand Slam. I want to know, what do you think about these words? What do you think about Flavio as player and guy?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I love Flavio, man. I actually really do. We get along super, super well. We got very close and very friendly since the Laver Cup last year.

He's an unbelievable guy. For me, I get along with him incredibly well. I get along with his father incredibly well. I really like them as a family, as people.

As a player, I mean, he's improving. He's climbing up the rankings every single year. He was struggling a little bit in the beginning of the year and then won two tournaments on the clay court swing. He's playing the best tennis of his life, and I'm sure he's going to continue rising up the rankings. He has the talent, he has the potential to do that.

Q. You already played Novak in quarterfinals in Roland Garros in 2019. What do you remember from this match? What changed since then?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I mean, he was much better than me back then, I would say, especially on Grand Slam level. We played a close first set, I think, and then he beat me quite easily after that.

We played a lot of matches since then. We played at Grand Slams since then. We have had a lot of tough battles. I have had a lot of great wins against him. I have had a lot of tough losses against him.

You know, we have great history in our rivalry, I would say, but yeah, again, I'm looking forward to the match, and it's always a privilege to be on court with him.

But he has to win first today, also, right? I don't want to disrespect anybody, and anybody who is in the fourth round deserves to be there, so I have to respect Cam and we'll see how the match goes.

Of course, playing Novak is always an honor.

Q. Must be nice, not too bad, to miss one match when you're playing a slam. You rest, you relax. You can come here and talk to us. Not too bad. I'd like to know if you saw or you had the chance to see Musetti versus Rune last night, if you saw...

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I saw the first set.

Q. What was your feeling? Were you surprised the way Musetti played? Okay, you didn't see the end, but...

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I know that the first set was 7-5 and I don't know actually the score. I know that Musetti won, but I don't know...

Q. Four sets.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Four sets. Yeah, I mean, the first set was a back-and-forth a lot, and I think both players had a lot of chances. I think Musetti stuck to his game plan more in the important moments than Holger. Holger maybe backed off a little bit too much, but both of them are young and talented players.

Q. You were not surprised by the winner?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: No. I mean, both of them can play incredible good tennis, for sure. But I think right now at this very second, Musetti is more stable than Holger in his tennis.

I think Holger is maybe even more talented. I think that he has the potential to do great, great things, but he's missing a little bit of stability, which I think Musetti has found during this clay court season. He's been very stable this clay court season.

Surprised? No, but I thought that it was going to be a tough match, for sure.