The fast-paced nature of life on the ATP Tour means Alexander Zverev has only had a small window in which to bask in the glory of winning his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.
Just four days after outlasting Flavio Cobolli in five sets to seal the biggest trophy of his career at the clay-court major, Zverev arrived in Halle to begin his preparations for the grass season. The balance between wanting to reflect on his recent achievement and the need to prepare for his latest title bid at the Terra Wortmann Open can be tricky, but ultimately is a nice problem to have for the No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings.
“It’s obviously a phenomenal feeling because that’s what you’ve worked for your entire life, your entire career,” Zverev told ATP Media on Sunday in Halle. “The people around you worked for that. I’m extremely happy and extremely proud of what we have done in Paris, but of course we are already back in a new tournament.
“The tournament is in Germany, so you want to perform and play at your best. I’ve been practising quite hard and practising quite [well]. It’s a tough adjustment from a good but long clay-court season to a grass court in a couple of days. But I’ll do my best and will be ready.”
Inclement weather in Halle over the past few days has restricted those competing in Halle — a list which also includes Zverev’s fellow Top-10 stars Felix Auger-Aliassime, Ben Shelton, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz and Flavio Cobolli — from a full practice schedule on the German grass. Yet Zverev is used to the quick adjustment required as the Tour switches suddenly from the relatively bouncy and slow clay courts of Europe to the low and fast conditions of the grass.
“I don’t know yet, I’ll be honest,” Zverev said when asked about how his grass game was shaping up. “I’ve only had two practice days. It’s a tough adjustment, it’s tough to come from the clay courts to grass courts and we didn’t have the best weather here yet, so I haven’t had a lot of practice, but tennis-wise I do feel like I’m playing good.
“Of course I played well the past couple of weeks, but the adjustment is the one that needs some time. I didn’t have time yet, so I hope the next two days will be sunshine and I can practise a lot and just be ready on the court.”
Zverev will begin his title tilt in Halle, where he reached the championship match in 2016 and 2017, with a first-round clash against Vit Kopriva. It will be the first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting between the two players.
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