Alexander Zverev feels that he can beat and be beaten by anyone as he talked about his Roland Garros chances after his Rome Masters victory.
The 27-year-old feels that everything is on his own racket as he proclaimed that French major is the event he wants to win more than any other.
Zverev produced a serving clinic to defeat Nicolas Jarry 7-5, 6-4 in the championship match in Rome on Sunday. It was Zverev’s 6th Masters 1000 title and the biggest he has won since suffering a horrific ankle injury at the 2022 edition of Roland Garros.
The German reached the last four at Roland Garros in each of the last three editions of the tourney and holds an impressive 28-8 (78%) record on Parisian clay – making it his most successful slam.
After his victory against Jarry at the Foro Italico, Zverev addressed his prospects at this year’s French Open and explained how this event presents him the opportunity to make a GS breakthrough as the potential draw could be announced without some leading contenders for the title.
“Look, I’ve said it many times before, and I’m going to say it again: I’m somebody that I know when I don’t play well, I can lose to anyone, but when I play well, I know I can beat anyone,” he said in his post-tournament press conference.
“That’s my mindset. That’s how I think about it. I know I have to focus on myself, to find my rhythm in Paris the way I did here. Then everything is on my own racket.”
The world #4 was asked whether he felt he has unfinished business in Paris because of the devastating ankle roll that forced him to retire in his semifinal against Rafael Nadal two years ago.
“That’s an interesting question because obviously being there three times in the semi-finals in a row, playing some of the best tennis of my life there when I injured my ankle, so in general it is always determined and marked in my calendar throughout the past few years,” Zverev explained.
“This year there’s no exception. That’s the one that I want to win. That’s the one that I look forward [to] the most maybe throughout the year. I’m going to do everything I can this year and we’ll see where I can end up.”
The 22-time tour titlist added on why the Roland Garros is the tournament he most wants to win: “Because it’s clay, to start with. It’s the most physical one for me, in my opinion.
“It’s the physically toughest one. But I think it’s the one where I have the most memories, good or bad. US Open, yes, I was two points away from winning the title. Of course, that’s also one that kind of sticks out.
“Roland Garros, so close to being in the final in 2021 I felt like. I was playing some of the best tennis of my life in 2022. Those kind of things, they are still in the back of my mind. Yeah, that’s the one that I want to do well in.”