ATP Tour

Zverev: ‘I’m one of the 128 players that are favourites in the draw'

Alexander Zverev arrives at this year’s US Open as the top seed for the first time in his career, but the German is not taking anything for granted as he prepares to make another run at the title in Flushing Meadows.

The No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings has notched just two wins across the North American hard-court swing, falling in the opening round in Montreal and the fourth round in Cincinnati, where he let slip one match point before losing to Tommy Paul. Still, Zverev believes his level is returning.

"I feel like I have [played very well] after the French Open, and then I haven't done it in the last two tournaments," Zverev said. "But I definitely feel like my game has been coming back, and it's been better and better every practice session that I've had. I hope I can show my best tennis here again."

For Zverev, this year’s US Open comes with a different weight. After three agonising defeats in Grand Slam finals, the 29-year-old finally broke through at Roland Garros earlier this year to claim his first major title. Now, with that long-awaited breakthrough behind him, Zverev is no longer chasing his first Grand Slam. The German is looking for the next one.

"There's some level of satisfaction for me that I finally won one," Zverev said. "But also, you realise, once you win one, you want to win more. You want to keep going and you want to play your best tennis every time you're on a tennis court."

That hunger was evident immediately after his breakthrough in Paris, with Zverev following up his Roland Garros triumph by reaching his first Wimbledon final.

Now, the German will look to carry that momentum into New York, where he has already come agonisingly close to lifting the trophy. In 2020, Zverev led Dominic Thiem by two sets to love and served for the championship in the fifth set, only for the Austrian to fight back and win.

"I still feel like I should have won in 2020. That doesn't change," Zverev said.

This year could perhaps be one of Zverev’s best chances to erase that heartbreak and finally win the US Open title. The German is the top seed but does not expect his seeding to change his approach.

"I think [being] seeded is nice, and being a seed is a great show that you've been playing well," Zverev said. "The most important thing is whose name is at the end of the draw and who is still here in two weeks' time. That's the main goal for everybody who is in the draw.

“I feel like I'm one of the 128 players that are favourites in the draw.”