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| October 14, 2019 | by FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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Alexander Zverev
Press Conference
D. MEDVEDEV/A. Zverev
6-4, 6-1
Q. What was so tough about playing him today as compared to the previous four times?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Look, he's a different player now. You can't compare. But I talked to my dad about it and obviously my coaching staff and everybody, and to beat these kind of players, you have to have a lot of confidence.
You know, to beat someone like him or to beat someone like Novak, you have to be playing good for a longer period of time and not just for one week, because a big difference was at 4-All when it gets tight, he does a few first serves and he's through the game. 4-5, 30-All, I do two double faults. And that's the big difference.
I feel like I'm playing well. I feel like I'm on a very good path again. But obviously I have to be on this path for a longer period of time, I think.
But making finals of a Masters is huge for me right now, and I'm very happy about that.
Q. Can you expand a bit on the positives that you have taken away from the past week? What's your biggest lesson learned?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Look, I think we're through the stage where we learn lessons in my career. I think we're past that a little bit (smiling).
But, yeah, I mean, as I said before, it was a very positive week. Made it to the finals. Beaten Roger, beaten other great players. Making it into the finals of a Masters 1000 is always very difficult and you have to be playing very good tennis to do that.
I will take that into the indoors now where I had good success last year, and hopefully I will have even better success this year.
Q. Stefanos said yesterday he thinks one of the reasons that Daniil, at least for him, is such a tough person to play is because he bores him playing against him. There have been other players that that's been said about, like Brad Gilbert and stuff. Do you find anything like that in the match?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: That he bored me? No. I think you're trying to win. But Stefanos and Daniil have a weird relationship a little bit. So I will leave that to them (smiling).
I have a very good relationship with Daniil since we're kids, and I'm having a good relationship with Stefanos now since the Laver Cup. So whatever they have, they can leave it for themselves. I'm not going to get involved. I'm not going to say anything about it.
I actually think the opposite. Daniil is somebody that plays a way that we have never seen before. So you can see it both ways.
Yeah, maybe he doesn't do huge winners or jumping forehands or anything like that, but he plays a style that we have never seen before. You know, that is not boring to me.
Q. Can you elaborate a little on that? Obviously that's not a common style on the tour. You don't come up against a player like that every day. So how much more difficult is that?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, I mean, but we have to adjust to it. We play against different players every single day of our lives. Every single player is different. There are no players that play the same way.
So he plays very flat. He plays with shots that you can't really do anything with the ball, I feel like, and that is difficult to play against him in an aggressive way.
Sometimes that's maybe why it looks maybe on TV or from the outside that players are not playing as aggressive against him as against others, but I feel like he doesn't let you.
But, I mean, he's playing well. As I said on court, he's probably the best player in the world right now. So credits to him.
Q. I have noticed this maybe in the last few weeks, but there seems to be a maturity in you, like in your postmatch today, where your generation has come after a really great lot of athletes as Roger, Rafa, and Novak. Do you feel kind of a responsibility in that to keep that going? You spoke a little of that in the US Open, too.
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, a little bit. Well, because for me, the difference now this year than the last few years was I was the only young guy kind of up there.
Now I see the other young guys. I see maybe still difference in, you know, how we act on court, how we behave on court, compared to the older guys.
So before I didn't pay attention to it because I was kind of the only one and the rest of it was fine. Nobody really cared about it. Now I really do, because I love this sport of tennis in general, and I want it to be in good hands, and I want it to be, you know, when Roger retires, when Novak retires, when Rafa retires, I want them to know that tennis is in good hands, kind of.
So I hope we, as young guys, we kind of understand that, we learn that, and, you know, then I think tennis will be just as interesting as it is now. And, you know, the Roger Federer fans or Rafa Nadal fans will fall in love with new players. I'm not saying it has to be me. I'm not saying it has to be anyone in particular. It may be a new superstar that we don't even know about.
But if we kind of learn the good things about those guys, I think this sport of tennis will be in very good hands.
Q. Personally, do you think this one is the most difficult match through your tournament in Shanghai? And today the clash between you and Medvedev is not in the final, could it be easier for you, less pressure or something?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: It was the most difficult match because I lost it. All the other ones I won (smiling).
Yes, it was the most difficult, but I think I played the best player. Who knows what would have happened?
As I said, confidence was a big factor today, and he's way, way more confident than I am in big moments in finals right now, because I always was somebody that in the big moments kind of played my best. But right now he's been to six finals in a row, so he's more used to it than I was. My last final was in Geneva, so that's a big difference.
As I said, he's playing some great tennis and all the credits to him.
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