THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 1, 2025

Alexander Zverev

Press Conference

A. RINDERKNECH/A. Zverev

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

THE MODERATOR: Sascha, tough one today. Give us your thoughts right now.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Not many thoughts, to be honest.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Do you find that one of the keys for this match that maybe resulted in the loss was that he was coming into the net quite a bit, putting you on the back foot quite early in the points, or do you find there was something else?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: No, I think generally he played a fantastic match. I'm not sure he's ever played a match like that in his life.

I was too defensive in some of the opportunities I had. But I felt like I had him in the fifth. I lost my serve from being 40-Love up, which was, yeah, I wouldn't say unfortunate because it was my mistake doing that. I had it on my racquet, so... Can't say I was unlucky or anything like that.

I mean, I let go. I let go of the match in the fifth set.

Q. What feels different from now compared to in January when you got to the final in Australia? Is it physical or mental or a combination?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I would say more mental, probably. It's funny, I feel very alone out there at times. I struggle mentally. I've been saying that since after the Australian Open. Yeah, just don't know. I'm trying to find ways, trying to find ways to kind of get out of this hole. I keep kind of finding myself back in it in a way.

Yeah, I don't know. I feel, generally speaking, quite alone in life at the moment, which is a feeling that is not very nice.

Q. I appreciate it's a very recent loss, very fresh in the mind. Thinking back over the years, you've had certain different coaches, Ivan Lendl, Juan Carlos Ferrero. Do you think part of rebuilding maybe involve somebody else in the future?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Possibly. As I said, yeah, it's a different feeling right now for me. I can't speak for the moment. But I think I'll have answers by Canada.

It's not a feeling on a tennis court, it's just a life feeling in general. As I said, I never felt this way before. I don't know. It's difficult to find joy outside the tennis court for me at the moment.

It's not an excuse or anything. I think Arthur deserved to win today. It's nothing that. It's something I've felt for the past few months. Again, I just feel generally very, very alone and very lonely. I don't know. Just never felt that way before.

I don't have the answers right now.

Q. Before the tournament, when you spoke with the media, you spoke about being No. 3 and kind of reminding everybody that you're No. 3 and a contender. You seemed very confident. What do you think is the difference between going into the tournament and then walking on for a first round when so many other players also in the top 10 have had so much difficulty in the first round?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I mean, to be very honest, I don't think I played a terrible, terrible match. I didn't break him once, which speaks a lot for him. I felt, especially yesterday, it was a really, really good match. The third set today I didn't play well. The fourth set I played quite well. The fifth set I played okay, just apart from that one stupid game.

Tennis-wise, it's funny I say that because I lost first round, but I don't think tennis is the problem right now for me. It's something else that I have to find within me at the moment.

Again, it's difficult for me to tell you because I don't have the answers right now. I have a month until Canada. Yeah, we'll see what happens until then. But something within me has to change, which is not necessarily on the tennis court, a forehand or backhand, right now.

Q. What do you feel or what do you say to yourself out on the court when you're alone? Also, how are you going to address these feelings? I don't know whether you do talk therapy or not, whatever.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, maybe. Maybe for the first time in my life I'll probably need it.

I've been through a lot of difficulties. I've been through a lot of difficulties in the media. I've been through a lot of difficulties in life generally. I've never felt this empty before. Just lacking joy, just lacking joy in everything that I do. It's not necessarily about tennis. Just lacking joy outside of tennis, as well.

Even when I'm winning, even when I'm winning like in Stuttgart or Halle, it's not necessarily, like, a feeling that I used to get where I was happy, over the moon, I felt motivated to keep going. It's just not there right now for me, which, again, is the first time in my life which I'm feeling.

Q. You obviously have been so close to getting over that line in a Grand Slam. Do you still feel close or does it feel like it's further away?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Right now this second (smiling)?

Q. Bigger picture, the US Open or Australian Open, which normally you'd be one of the favorites. Do you still feel like that?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Again, I have to solve myself first. I have to solve my issues, and then...

Tennis-wise I do. I still feel like I'm one of the best players in the world. Again, it's not about tennis at the moment for me.

Q. Is the desire still there, still burning inside you?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: To win a major, yes. I don't know how to answer this, to be honest, because it's a feeling that you're going to bed and you're just not really motivated for the next day, you don't really feel like waking up and going to work. I think everybody had this feeling, it doesn't matter what job you had. As an athlete, it kind of reflects on performance a lot. That's more what I have right now.