ROLAND GARROS

May 27, 2025

Alexander Zverev

Press Conference

A. ZVEREV/L. Tien

6-3, 6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Well done, Sascha. Are you happy with your level of play today for your first match at Roland Garros?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah. I think it was a solid match against a tricky opponent who has beaten me this year before.

Happy with a three-set win.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. How much did it help having played him before? How much different was it playing him in these conditions and on this kind of court versus playing him...

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I thought Acapulco was slower. Yeah, Acapulco is the slowest court I played all year.

No, I mean, I thought the match was similar in a way. I just played better. You know, I was not playing great in Acapulco, and I wasn't able to hit him off the court, in a way, which you need to do against him. He's very solid off both wings. He doesn't really give you much.

You know, and I thought I was quite aggressive today. I thought I did a good job taking care of my chances and, yeah, then the result is kind of a turnaround from Acapulco.

Q. After the quick win of Sinner and Alcaraz yesterday, you said also that you didn't have enough preparation, a bad preparation. Are you more confident for the rest of the tournament after this quick win?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I mean, I didn't say I had bad preparation. I think I didn't have the ideal preparation. I think throwing up three days before tournament starts is not ideal (smiling). So that's more what I meant.

Look, I'm doing my things, I'm doing my job, I'm looking at myself at the moment. Then when it's semifinals, finals, whatever, then we look at who I play.

Right now, everybody needs to win the matches, everybody needs to beat the opponents that are in front of them.

Today was Tien. After tomorrow is going to be someone else for me. Yeah, it's about taking care of your things first.

Q. When you're going through this period like you have been going through where things have been sort of up and down, and you play great in Munich and probably felt like you were back on track, how is it from day to day, from match to match, and how different is it than, I guess, compared to a year ago when you come in off Rome and...

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: But a year ago before Rome I didn't win anything. I mean, I lost second round in Monaco. I lost first or second round in Munich. I lost, you know, exactly the same stage in Madrid. And then I won Rome.

This is who I am, unfortunately (smiling). I have up-and-downs. I'm not a Novak Djokovic, I'm not a Rafa Nadal who is going to win or make finals of every tournament.

My highs are very high, and I realized that, but my lows are lower than other players and other top guys. I have come to terms with that, as well. That's just how my tennis is. You know, that's maybe who I am, in a way.

I'm just hoping that, you know, my highs will be higher than anyone else's the next two weeks.

Q. Well, you have ups and downs, but in Paris not so much because final. Before, three other semifinals. So this is a tournament where usually you express yourself pretty well. Do you think there is a reason or it's just a coincidence?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I mean, look, yeah, there is reasons. I think tennis on clay is the most physical that we have. And of course best-of-five sets is even more physical. I always felt confident in my physical abilities.

So I think winning two sets against me is a lot easier than winning three sets against me. That's how it is against other top players, as well. That's how it is against Carlos, and that is how it was with Rafa, also. That's how it is with Novak, Jannik, and everybody else.

Sometimes I have to rely on that. Sometimes, or a lot of the times even, you know, during the tournament, as you said, I was down two sets to love or down two sets to one, and I managed to find a way to come back. Other tournaments, if you're down two sets to one, that means the tournament is over.

That's maybe part of the reasoning. But of course still in the back of everyone's mind, every top player's mind, the French Open is still the priority. For me, it is, as well.

Again, I think playing your best tennis here is the most important.