Days, hours, minutes pass. We are all counting down, waiting for one of the most unfortunate and spectacular first rounds in the history of a slam. The day of the challenge is approaching Rafa Nadal and Alexander Zverevin what, in all likelihood, will be the Spanish champion’s last Roland Garros.
The German, fresh from his triumph at the Internazionali in Rome, commented on this particular draw in the press conference, describing his emotions in view of the match.
The words of Sasha Zverev
The 27-year-old from Hamburg revealed that he discovered he had been drawn against the 20-time slam champion by his brother Misha.
“Yesterday I was training with Rublev at Chatrier. Once the training was finished, which was pretty good, my brother told me. At first I thought he was playing a joke on me (laughs). Honestly, I wanted to face Nadal again, because I didn’t want the last memory of my matches against Rafa to be me leaving the court in a wheelchair.
In an ideal world I would have liked to face him later in the tournament, but that’s how things turned out. He’s not seeded and I am. It’s a tough draw, but it’s a tough draw for both of them.
We’ll see how things go on Monday.” Zverev ruled out the possibility of a rule that would prevent Nadal from playing against a top seed at Roland Garros. “How can you implement something like this? I can’t think of how.
I can guarantee you that neither Novak, nor Alcaraz, nor Jannik wanted to play against Rafa in the first round. Me neither, but that’s how things are. He’s been out injured for a while, he hasn’t played much tennis and his ranking of him is what he is.
It’s not ideal, but at the same time nothing can be done. Now everyone is excited for the battle and the approaching first round. He can’t wait and I can’t wait,” said the German. Zverev knows well that he cannot underestimate the Iberian legend, even if he is in less than optimal conditions.
“I will be facing a statue. You don’t play against the statue, you play against a human being… but it’s Rafa Nadal. It’s clear. In my mind, I will approach this match thinking of playing against the best Rafa Nadal.
This is what I expect from him, I expect him to be at his best, to play the tennis he has played on this court for a long time. There has always been a debate about him: in 2022 he arrived at Roland Garros without having won Monte Carlo, Madrid or Rome.
He arrived and was told he was an unknown, we talked about this and that… and in the end he dominated the entire tournament. So, in my mind I will face the best Nadal. This is how I will approach this match” commented the current number four.
On who was less fortunate in this draw, the German concluded: “I thought you were going to ask me who was less fortunate in life. He has 22 Grand Slams, I wish I had had this bad luck, all to myself (laughs).
I think both of us, if we had had the chance, would have chosen differently. Like I said, before the end of his career I would have liked to play him one more time. I wanted to compete with Rafa here. I didn’t want this to happen in the first round.
I wanted to face him in the semi-final, in the final, in a distant round. There is no choice but to do it here, we are both ready for a tough battle.”
