THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 7, 2026

Alexander Zverev

Press Conference

A. ZVEREV/J. Lehecka

6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Sascha, if you could share some initial thoughts about the match, please.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, there's two parts to it. I think yesterday was phenomenal from both of us. Incredibly high level. Both of us I think playing, yeah, almost at the maximum.

Then today I think it was worse, but it's not easy to finish at 11 p.m. and then come back also with completely different conditions. So it was normal.

But I'm definitely happy to be through in four sets.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Wimbledon is the only slam that has this curfew. Were you wishing that you could play till the end last night?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Of course, when you're up two sets to love, 3-All in the third, of course you wish to continue playing. We, as players, we know it, we accept it. There's nothing that we can do about it.

I think yesterday I was in such a good rhythm, playing phenomenal tennis under the roof, of course I would have wished to continue.

It's part of Wimbledon and we know it and we accept it. It's totally fine.

Q. Did you notice Roger Federer stayed for the first couple of games?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, I saw him. He was at some point sitting alone completely in the Royal Box. I think it was a phenomenal sight. But I saw him before the match, as well. He congratulated me for Roland Garros, as well.

It was very nice of him to stay.

Q. Could you give us an idea of the difference in your day today compared to what it would have been if you hadn't have needed to come back? It's, I imagine, quite a lot of extra hours here, obviously the match itself, but what it does to you and your rhythm for tomorrow.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: No, I think for tomorrow it's going to be okay. I think more it's today. Of course, it's better to have just a normal training day because last night you still go to bed at 2:30 a.m. You have to wake up at 9 because your warm-up is at 11. Normally I would have slept in and practiced around 1:30, 2:00, had an easy hit.

Again, that's totally fine. We understand it. We, as players, know that there's a curfew at 11. We know we have to come back the next day. It's really not a big deal.

For me it was more interesting, I didn't know that the rule has changed that we have to play with an open roof the next day. That was more interesting to me, because that changed the match dynamic as well. It's completely different conditions, as well. Yeah, that was for me the more surprising thing.

But everything else, it's fine. I'd much rather be in the position I am now than last year where I was fresh and not in the tournament anymore.

Q. Two years ago here Taylor began his run against you. As you go into that next match, what do you think is the issue tactically that you've been facing over the last couple of years?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I think the last couple of times that we've played, it's actually quite simple. Taking out the match in Halle, because in Halle I was struggling, I openly said I was struggling with my sugar quite a lot, so take that match out. The other matches, he was just better than me. It's sometimes as simple as that. He was in better form. He was playing better than me. That's about it.

The matches that we played, it was quite simple: he was better than me.

Again, I do feel different now. I do feel like I play better. I do feel like I'm in better form. I do believe I can win tomorrow.

Q. First time in the quarterfinals here. Is that a milestone for you, or having won Roland Garros and having been in three other major finals, is it almost incidental?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: No, it's still nice to complete the set of quarterfinals for majors, of course. But of course also I want to go further. I want to play hopefully three more matches here.

Of course, I'm happy about it. I'm happy to be in the quarterfinals. Again, for me, the tournament doesn't stop here.

Q. Is it because you're playing better on grass or is it just playing better?

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I think generally this year I'm playing better than I did last year and the previous years.

I think I've adapted better on grass, as well. For sure I've adapted my game a little bit. I don't know if you noticed, but my return position is a lot closer to the baseline, sometimes inside the baseline, which it wasn't the last couple of years.

I felt more confident and comfortable there than I did the last couple of years. I think all of these things, they're just better on grass than they were before.