THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 10, 2026

Alexander Zverev

Press Conference

A. ZVEREV/A. Fery

7-6, 6-2, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Sascha, consecutive Grand Slam finals. You must be feeling pretty good right now.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, of course very happy to be in a Wimbledon final, for sure. Yeah, just hope to play a good match on Sunday.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Your forehand seemed to be hitting the spots in the corners nearly every time. Your top level, where was that in comparison to what you can do on a tennis court?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Today?

Q. Yes. In terms of your top level, what would you say?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Well, I think today was a bit of a mix of everything. I think the first set wasn't that particularly great. I think the second and third set were really good.

But he was a very, very different type of opponent than I had in the fourth round and in the quarterfinals where I had two massive servers, massive hitters. So it took some adjustments.

Once I found my rhythm, I thought it was a good match. I felt the ball quite well. I don't know. I'm in a Wimbledon final. I'm just happy about that. I think you have to be playing well to be here.

Q. It's quite unusual to go from the position where you just won the title at a slam and come back and do it again. Dominic Thiem talks about how hard he found it after the first breakthrough he had. Is there a reason why you've coped with it so well?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I think it's very individual. I think different people, I think Dominic Thiem, in particular, he put his whole life and soul into winning that slam. He came back from two sets to love down against me in the US Open. I think it was such a relief for him that it was maybe a bit too much of a relief mentally.

For me, I stay focused. I stay hungry. I want more. I want to continue playing at the best level and continue winning. I hope I'm able to do that, and again on Sunday I have another big chance.

Q. What's your approach ahead of the final? Are you one to analyze in detail Jannik and Novak's match, or do you prefer to let your team do that and you focus on what you can control?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: No, when I'll get back, I'll watch it, for sure. I'll watch the match, the finish of the match, whatever it will be. But then the rest my team will do and they'll give me the information they feel is necessary.

Q. The Paris final, your grandmother came over and was part of your team.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: No, she wasn't. She was there for months before.

Q. Is she going to be able to come to London?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: She doesn't have a visa. She unfortunately has a Russian passport still, so...

Q. Have you spoken to her? Will you make a point of speaking to her prior to the match?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Well, my phone is off, so I don't tend to speak to anyone, to be honest.

It was great when she was there. I hope, or I know that our chancellor is coming to the final. Maybe he can help with a passport or a longer visa for her, and then she can stay a bit longer, but she had to go back after 90 days.

Q. Is that what works for you, turning the phone off?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: My phone has been off for years during slams. My phone is never on during slams.

Q. You said some lovely words about Arthur on the court. As Brits, we're all pleasantly surprised by what's happened here. We're trying to work out what level he's at. What was your verdict?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: He's at a good level. I think he's still at the start of his career, for sure. I think his game is very, very good. I think he has a lot of things in his game that he can still improve, which is a positive thing, because he just made semifinals of Wimbledon for the first time. He probably still feels the same way: he has a lot of things that he can still do a bit better.

That's a massive compliment, I feel like, because if you're complete and that's your ceiling, then you know that's your ceiling. If you know that you're just starting and you're making semifinals of slams, that's positive.

Q. If you were a little bit shorter, do you think you have to work harder as a player?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I think you just style your game a bit different. Me, I have to work a lot harder than maybe shorter players with my physicality. I think for taller guys, tennis is a bit more of a difficult sport because physically it's more demanding, because, you know, he probably weighs, what, 70, 72, 73 kilos. I'm walking around at 96 kilos. That's 20-plus kilos. Just those things I have to work harder.

He probably has to work harder at finding power, finding an easier way to win points. That, for sure.

Q. You're being more and more proactive with your forehand. A lot of one-plus-one points. Do you feel you're at your best with that combination, serve and forehand? You win a lot of points with serve-backhand.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I think I've talked a lot about this this year. I've been trying to play a more aggressive game style. I've been trying to take on the game a bit more. For sure my forehand is a bit part of it.

When I hit that shot well, I feel like I'm playing well. When I don't hit that shot well, that's where I'm more beatable.

The last couple of months I think it's been working okay.

Q. You've played Jannik and Novak a lot of times but never on grass. Could you just talk a little about how you think it might be different for each player on grass, the matchup.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I think both of them, they love the grass court. They feel comfortable on the surface. Novak, I think it speaks for itself, the record he has on grass. Jannik has won Wimbledon last year. For sure they feel very comfortable on this surface.

Again, I think the serve-return patterns are going to be very, very important against both players. The rest, we'll see.

Q. Is the Sascha Zverev of 2026 better equipped to play a Wimbledon final than, say, a year ago, two years ago...

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: A year ago I lost first round, so I would say so probably.

Q. Because of the French Open title, this liberation, you got over the line, does that mean you're better equipped? If so, why?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I think there's two things to it. I think, yes, one thing, for sure, once you win a major you know how to do it and you feel like you can do it again. You have this feeling inside of you.

The second thing, I feel like I worked on my game a lot. I feel like my game has improved. Sometimes in sports it's as simple as that.

When you improve your forehand, when you improve your backhand, when you improve your serve, when you improve your return, you're going to win more matches. It's sometimes as simple as that.

You can talk about mental stuff, you can talk about, I don't know, certain situations, coaching changes, whatever. But if you improve as a player and you make the decision as a player to improve, you're going to do better in tournaments.