Entra immédiatement : “J’ai cru avoir déjà remporté le concours.” Continue à lire.
Alexander Zverev considered his victory last Monday in the first round of the Roland Garros Open to be one of his best victories because it has been uncommon for him to defeat Rafael Nadal there in the last twenty years.
Only two guys have defeated Rafael Nadal in his beloved French Open since he made his debut in 2005. 2009 saw Robin Soderling become the first, and Novak Djokovic the second. The Serbian is actually the only individual to have accomplished this feat twice (in 2015 and 2021).
Since then, Zverev has been a member of that select group after overcoming 14-time record holder Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the most memorable Grand Slam opening match you can probably remember.
The likes of Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Iga Swiatek stamped their tickets for the day to watch it inside Court Philippe-Chatrier, demonstrating the importance of the main event.
It was more than just another victory for Zverev. After convincingly defending that achievement after defeating David Goffin in the second round, the German spoke to the assembly. Here, he said that the triumph was comparable to winning the championship because it was so significant on the scales.
“So, even though it was just the first round, I thought I had already won the competition after defeating him. You have to concentrate for a full two weeks, so I’m glad I got an extra two days off because I needed to gather my thoughts. I needed to regain my composure, return to my work, and resume my high caliber tennis game. I hope to keep playing at this level since I am really pleased with my performance today.”
Despite his intense feelings, Zverev was cognizant of the fact that the match was just the first and that there was still a long way to go in the competition. In this instance, this is absolutely true.
The reason why Zverev, ranked fourth, is taking each match as it comes up is that in two of the three previous times Nadal lost at Roland Garros, his opponents were not victorious in the competition.
